Stopping the Conquest Ending
by xxBigPhilxx
Summary: I come to Gamindustri in hopes to see a good story with a happy ending. Unfortunately, events played out differently than I hope as it appears that the Bad Ending will be happening. Not on my watch. I'm going to need friends and make allies to prevent the bad ending from happening and save everyone from the tears. Guest appearance by the Youtuber Noble of Lost Pause.
1. Chap 1: A Turn for the Worst

-Author's Notes-

Hello everyone! Thanks for stopping by my fanfic. I know it's been a while, but I decided to get back in the swing of doing fanfics. This fanfic will be a parody spin-off to the Hyperdimention Neptunia Re;birth/MK 2 game. It will also contain multiple references to the Youtube channel Lost Pause featuring Noble and his past Let's Plays. Please note that these first few chapters will be typed up using Wordpad until I can get Microsoft Office reinstalled. So if there are some spelling and/or grammar mistakes here and there, please be forgiving and don't go all grammar nazi on me.

-Disclaimer-

The following is a non-profit fanfic. Hyperdimention Neptunia is owned by JP Sega, Compile Heart. and Idea Factory. Please support the official release. Also all references and inside jokes from Noble of Lost Pause are owned by their respected owner. Please support this beautiful bastard or else Lily will hunt you down and flay your asses.

Chapter 1: "A turn for the Worst."

The Deity of Sin has awaken. Her powers continue to grow at an alarming rate. In response to this, the CPUs, the CPU canidates and the oracles of each nation formed an alliance to meet this threat head on. Their first step was to venture into LAN castle and retrieve a very powerful sword. When they returned to Planeptune's Basilicom however, this sword turned out to be cursed as it would get stronger if it takes the life of one that is of CPU blood. They imideately dismissed this method, but with with their options on how to counter the Deity of Sin becoming slim, worry hung over their heads. It was at this time that Nepgear spoke up

[ Nepgear ]  
"What if we gather all the Shares throughout Gamindustri and focus them in one nation?"

[ Histoire ]  
"All of the world's Shares?"

[ Noire ]  
"Do you know what you are saying!?"

[ Nepgear ]  
"If we move everyone's Shares to Planeptune, then my sister and I can fight the Deity of Sin alone."

[ Mina ]  
"Hold on a second. That does sound like a decent enough idea, but..."

[ Chika ]  
"What of the other nations? This would crush our economies beyond repair and leave the other CPUs drained of their powers with no hope of recovering."

[ Nepgear ]  
"But this way, no one will die. Isn't that what matters in the end?"

[ Kei ]  
"I'm not sure if this is the innocence of youth, or a calculated grab for power. Either way, I can't support this notion."

[ Mina ]  
"I can't support it either."

[ Chika ]  
"Same. If this is your great idea, then why don't we just move all the Share's into my darling Vert's Leanbox? There's no reason it has to be Planeptune."

[ Nepgear ]  
"Wait ... Can't we please consider this."

[ Noire ]  
"Sorry, but I'm not going to sign a death warrant for my nation or it's people."

[ Vert ]  
"Be warned. If you seek this path, than you leave me no choice but to oppose you with all of my power."

[ Blanc ]  
"If you threaten Lowee's Shares and it's people, then Planeptune is my enemy."

[ Ram ]  
"I knew you were a bully!"

[ Rom ]  
"Miss Nepgear..."

[ Nepgear ]  
"Why can't you understand? This isn't the time to argue about nations and power."

[ Uni ]  
"We will never agree to this. Bye!"

With that, the other CPUs, Candidates and Oracles stormed out of Planeptunes's Basilicon.

[ Nepgear ]  
"Wait! Please don't go!"

[ Neptune ]  
"Come on! Can't we all just take a chill pill and listen to my sis for a second."

The two tried in vain to chase down the other CPUs before they left.

Now I'm sure most of you are wondering from which point of view all this is unfolding from. Well, that would be MY point of view. The guy in the black button-up shirt and black fedora who is stepping out from behind one of the pillars in the back of the room. I have been watching everything from out of sight of the CPUs and Oracles. When I knew everyone was gone, I finally stepped out to review what I just witnessed.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok. So we are going down the Conquest Route."

"..."

"..."

"...Shit!"

-Chapter End-

I hope everyone enjoyed and/or tolerated the first chapter. Again, it's been a very long time so please excuse any grammar and errors in the visual novel format I am trying to work with.


	2. Chap 2: The Vapor Syndicate

_The following is a non-profit fanfic. Hyperdimention Neptunia is owned by JP Sega, Compile Heart, Idea Factory. Please support the official release. Also all references and inside jokes from Noble of Lost Pause are owned by their respected owner. Please support this beautiful bastard or else Lily will hunt you down and flay your asses._

Chapter 2: "The Vapor Syndicate."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"This is not good!"

I snuck out of the Planeptune's Basilicom to take a good look at the aftermath of what just happened. The other CPUs and Oracles were leaving Planeptune with sour expressions. No doubt the alliance and bonds they had before have all but crumbled. War between the nations seemed imminent.

Now I bet most of you are wondering what I am in relation to Gamindustri and all of what's happening. Well, I am what is classified as a "User." Someone from another dimension who bares witness of the events that takes place in this dimension through different means in our world. However, through the right means, it's possible for some people to cross dimensions and come to Gamindustri to witness events first hand.

But getting here is no easy feat. How did I manage it? I joined a small organization known as the "Vapor Syndicate" managed by the rookie Oracle named Misteam. If one has the right connections or the right sized wallet, they are granted permission to join and cross dimensions from our world to other worlds such as Gamindustri. They are also given "tools" to help boost their abilities while in these foreign worlds. My tool comes in the form of that strange pack that's strapped to my back, but I'll cover that later. The only catch is that the members must try to not interact with key figures or key events that happen while deployed to these worlds.

Of course being a syndicate, I didn't make this trip alone. I was assigned to come here with another member and his "personal mechanic." Knowing that he'd probably would like to know what has just transpired here, I pressed my ear-piece and dialed him up.

[ Noble ]  
"What's crackin' guys?!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Guys? Dude, it's just me here."

[ Noble ]  
"Yeah, sorry. It's kind of my thing, ya know. Anyway, is everything all good over there? I would be there with you, but I wanted to get some last minute grinding in with Lily before we witness the true ending and have to leave this place."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah. about the ending..."

I looked off into the distance from outside the Basillicon at the CPUs and Oracles from the other nations who were leaving the area to return to their own nations.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"It looks like we are going down the Conquest Route."

[ Noble ]  
"The Conquest Route? You mean ... ?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yup. I'm afraid we are gonna witness the bad end."

I take a moment to glimpse at Nepgear and Neptune who were talking with the humans who decided to remain loyal to them. They appear to be talking about their next move.

[ Noble ]  
"You can't be serious. I came to Gamindustri to see the feel good ending."

I could tell he was becoming more worried by the second.

[ Noble ]  
"You lived through the bad end, right?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Of course not! I merely searched it on Youtube. I don't have the balls to do any of that myself. ... At least not any more."

[ Noble ]  
"Ok, give it to me straight. How bad is it?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Pretty bad. No offense, but I'm pretty sure you will cry like a bitch should you see it."

[ Noble ]  
"I'll take your word for it. Damn, what are we gonna do? Misteam advised us not to get involved with the plot directly, but I just can sit here and let the bad end happen if there's any way I can stop it."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I know. I don't work a crappy job for a living only to see a conclusion to a game that will leave me feeling even more crappy."

[ Noble ]  
"Well, what's happening now over there?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Let's see. The CPUs and Oracles from the other nations have left in a less than happy mood. Now it looks like Neptune and Nepgear are talking with the humans who stayed faithful to them and..."

As I was relaying what I was seeing, someone appeared to walk up to Nepgear. Someone in a long brightly colored dress and a light purple pony-tail separated from the group of humans and approached Nepgear.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wait, is ... is that Plutia?! Is she supposed to be in this game? How the devil is she here?"

[ Noble ]  
"What? Don't you remember? I downloaded her to help with the gameplay and make the fights easier."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oh! That's right. So that's how it worked."

I watch as Plutia walked up to Nepgear and appeared to square up to her.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oh my..."

[ Noble ]  
"What's going on?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I'm not really sure, but I think the situation is about to fix itself."

[ Noble ]  
"Really?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Hell yeah. Some Sadie x Nepgear is about to happen. I'll call you back. I ... NEED ... to see this!"

[ Noble ]  
" *Sigh* Fine, I'll leave you to whatever twisted fetishes you want to witness. Just call me back when it's all done."

With that, I cut the transmission with Noble. I quickly hurried to hide behind the nearest corner of the Basilicom. I was still out of sight, but managed to get close enough to be in ear-shot of the whole thing. I peaked my head around the corner to see the next move.

* * *

[ Plutia ]  
"Are you reeeaaaally going to fight all of our friends?"

[ Nepgear ]  
"What?! Well ... I ... I might have to if we are to get enough Shares to stand a chance against the Deity of Sin."

This response appeared to have anger Plutia as her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched down on her doll of Neptune. Nepgear nervously took a step back.

[ Plutia ]  
"I won't forgive anyone who tries to hurts my friends."

Plutia's eyes narrowed even more and a sinister grin formed on her face.

[ Plutia ]  
"But if you insist on doing exactly that..."

A flash of light envelopes Plutia as she activates her HDD form. The intimidating figure of Iris Heart appeared before Nepgear.

[ Iris Heart ]  
"Then I will gladly leave a lasting reminder on your body, your mind and your soul as to what happens to those who turn on their friends."

With a sinister grin and a red flash of the eye, Iris Heart slowly began advancing towards Nepgear.

[ Nepgear ]  
"Wh-what?"

[ Neptune ]  
"Woah woah woah! Sadie, don't you think you're being a little... um ... too Sadie right now? Junior is just doing what she thinks is ..."

[ Iris Heart ]  
"Neppy, if you want some of the wrath I'm about to put on you sister, then just say so."

[ Neptune ]  
"EEEK! I'm sorry. I'll let you give Junior here all of your tough love."

[ Red ]  
"Are we really going to let this happen to my wifey? Am I who thinks this is a little extreme?"

[ Cave ]  
"Nepgear is about to cross a terrible line. This test of fortitude is necessary."

[ Broccoli ]  
"My faith in Nepgear's fortitude is slightly lacking at this moment, nyu."

Iris Heart readied her blade and sized up Nepgear.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Whelp. Rest in peace, Nepgear. This will be brutal, but it would be for your own good and the good of Gamindustri."

[ Nepgear ]  
"Wait! Can't we talk about this?"

[ Iris Heart ]  
"Enough talking. It's time to give you your due punishment."

Iris Heart charged Nepgear leading with a slash of her whip blade. Nepgear gasped, but was able to quickly hop back and avoid getting hit. Iris Heart paused for a moment unleashed a flurry of quick slashes. Nepgear evaded the first of them and on Iris Heart's last strike, managed to draw her beam saber and parry away Iris Heart's sword. Iris Heart turned back to Nepgear and gave her a grin that was a cross of amusement and sadistic intent.

[ Iris Heart ]  
"That's a good girl, Neppy Jr. I like it when my play things struggle a bit before I punish them. It helps make them more helpless as I violate them."

[ Nepgear ]  
"Wait! J-just hold on a second!"

Before Nepgear could get another word out, Iris Heart lunged with a very furious thrust of her blade. Nepgear let out a quick gasp, but was able to deflect Iris' attack while she began to step to the side. The follow through of Iris Heart's attack caused her to keep going forward and one of her feet caught on the foot Nepgear still had planted. Unable to stop her momentum, Iris fell forward and hit the ground forcefully without time to even brace herself.

There was a short pause as somehow Iris Heart laid practically face down in the pavement and Nepgear, though shaking with lack of confidence and nervousness, was still sanding unscathed with her beam sword still drawn. Iris slowly got to her feet and turned towards Nepgear with quite the broken grin on her face.

[ Iris Heart ]  
"Heh...heh heh heh...ha ha ha! AH HA HA HA HA HAAAAA!"

It was anything but a cheery and happy laugh. It was the laugh of a maniac that snapped further into insanity. Everyone witnessing, myself included, felt a very cold chill crawl up their spines.

[ IF ]  
"Wha! Has Lady Plutia gone ... completely insane?!"

[ Compa ]  
"Iffy? You're shaking and turning pale. Perhaps you should sit down."

The others watch on with horror, but another thought crossed my mind

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(Ok, is it me, or is Nepgear actually not doing half bad against Iris Heart? I mean, she's still being a clutz about it, but that doesn't change the fact that Iris has yet to lay a single finger on her ... while she's still in her human form.)

[ Iris Heart ]  
"Neppy Jr., You should be happy. I no longer wish to hurt or torment you."

[ Nepgear ]  
"R-really?"

[ Iris Heart ]  
"Of course not. I want you dead where you stand. And now I'll make it quick and painless."

[ Nepgear ]  
"Wha-what!?"

Before Nepgear can take a breath, Iris Heart flew at her with a series of slashes. All Nepgear could to was step back and try frantically to block all of the attacks.

[ Neptune ]  
"Wait! Sadie, stop it!"

Neptune was about to step in to save her sister. However, there was a clash of their weapons forcing the two to separate before she could step in. Nepgear still stood on unsteady with a look of terror in her eyes, but still manage to hold a defensive stance with sword in hand. Iris Heart on the other didn't focus on her opponent right away. At first she seemed distracted by something. She raised her open hand to her cheek and felt around. She pulled her hand away and looked at her fingertips which now had a trickle of blood on them. Apparently Nepgear was able to land a slight cut across Iris Heart's face during the quick clash. It was unknown if this was intentional, or a very lucky accident.

Iris Heart shot a glance at Nepgear, gritted her teeth, then charged at her with all her might. Their swords clashed rabidly as Nepgear appeared to be put on the defensive early. During their bout, there was a moment that where they were so close that their bodies almost made contact. In the mist of their clash, I could of sworn Nepgear's elbow almost touch Iris Heart's torso. In the next instant, Nepgear was knocked back and was knocked off her feet for the first time this fight.

Nepgear quickly got back on her feet. Still shaking, but sword still drawn and ready to defend herself. Iris Heart on the other hand appeared to have been completely stopped. Then her eyes became bloodshot, she began shaking, and she gasped as if the wind was knock clean out of her. She raised a hand to her chest. The next moment, she dropped to a knee

[ Iris Heart ]  
"Im-Impossible!"

She said trying to regain control of her breathing. She tried to rise to her feet shaking all the way, but before she could completely stand up-right, she let out one final gasp and toppled over. She busted in a flash of light and when it settled, the exhausted human form that was Plutia remained huntched over in defeat.

[ IF ]  
"I-I-I missed something, didn't I?"

[ Compa ]  
"Uh ... Um ..."

[ Neptune ]  
"Sweet Damn berry Jam! I mean, I know the plot armor is strong with Junior, but to drop Sadie?!"

The others were speechless from the shock of what they just witnessed. I was even taken a back as I tried to remain out of sight around the corner.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(What the hell?! ... Wait ... when they were clashing. That slight moment where her elbow came across Iris' body. Did she actually land a hit there?)

Nepgear stood over Plutia who was still on her hands and knees gasping for air with her head down.

[ Nepgear ]  
"I'm-I'm-I'm sorry Putia, but if you insist on continuing..."

She nervously grabbed the sword ,Malice Blade, which was hilted at her waist.

[ Nepgear ]  
"Then you leave me no choice, but to ... BUT TO ..."

Nepgear appeared fearful as she said this.

[ Neptune ]  
"WHOA WHOA, JUNIOR!"

Neptune saw what was about to happen and quickly rushed over and grabbed Nepgear's hand.

[ Neptune ]  
"Hey hey, there isn't need for that, right? You don't have to any more here. I mean ... you should take baby steps as they come. ... Though dropping Sadie like that is one hell of a baby step, but still ..."

Nepgear paused for a while. And looked around at the expressions of the other humans. Then she turned her attention to Plutia who finally looked up at her with helpless eyes.

[ Nepgear ]  
"You're-you're right. this is enough for one day. We should really discuss the next step on saving Gamindustry."

With that, Neptune lead Nepgear and the other loyal humans into the Basilicom. Plutia was left outside and gave on final dejected look at them before turning on her heals and began to leave out of Planeptune while holding her chest in defeat.

* * *

I was still outside, left in in utter disbelief as to what happened.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Th-this can be happening. Plutia was the last hope we had to fix all this..."

I held the back of my head as I tried to think of a way to correct all this.

[ xxBigPhil ]  
"...Shit! There is no way out of this!"

"..."

"...Damn it! There's no stopping the bad ending now at this point huh?"

I weighted on all possibilities on this somehow working out on it's own. Nothing came to mind. I thought of any scenario that could somehow save all this with the least loss. There was only one thing that came to mind. One way to at least salvage a some what decent outcome to all this. I sighed as I got my thoughts together.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"...*Sigh* Damn, there is only one thing I can do to make this right to some degree. There is still a way I can save the majority Gamindustri. In order to save Gamindustri as a whole and avoid utter catastrophe, I must..."

I took a deep breath as the declaration I was going to give got caught in my throat. And I gave a quick tug of the apparent normal pack strapped to my back.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"...I must assassinate Nepgear..."

-Chapter End-


	3. Chap 3: A Sinister Alliance

-Chapter 3: A Dark Alliance-

After Nepgear's victory over Iris Heart, Nepgear, Neptune, and the humans who remained loyal to them tried to discuss what is going to happen now. After some encouraging tid-bits from Nepgear, Red, Cave, 5pb, and Broccoli, decided to head to their own residences for the night. Neptune, Nepgear, IF and Compa remained to make sure the friendship between the four was still strong.

[ IF ]  
"Well, I guess it's all or nothing at this point. No turning back now, huh?"

[ Compa ]  
"Are you sure you're gonna be OK, Ge-Ge? I can only imagine What you are going through right now."

[ Nepgear ]  
"Yeah, I'll be OK. I appreciate your concerns, but this is a necessary course of action. I hope I can count on your support with this."

[ Compa ]  
"Mmm..."

[ IF ]  
"Of course. We followed you this far, right? I intend to help you to the end. But for now, we should go to our rooms and rest up. It's gonna be a long trip starting tomorrow, right?"

[ Nepgear ]  
"Yeah. Perhaps that's for the best."

[ Compa ]  
"Ge-Ge, please take care of yourself."

With that, their friends left them in the Basilicom and headed back to their homes. Neptune decided to try to cheer up her sister. She merrily skipped up to the side of Nepgear and tried to force a cheery smile.

[ Neptune ]  
"Hey, come on! Turn that frown upside down. Ya big sis is here to do silly-nilly things and perk you up, ok?"

[ Nepgear ]  
"Uh, thank you, but I think I need to be alone for a while. I'm going to spend some time in the main worshiping chamber."

[ Neptune ]  
"What?! We only been reunited recently and you want to push me away? C'mon, can't I play the big sis during your time if need? I want to be helpful in some way here."

[ Nepgear ]  
"I appreciate that, Sister. But this is something I have to figure out on my own right now. I'll speak to you tomorrow, ok?"

[ Neptune ]  
"Uh...yeah...sure thing, Junior..."

With that, Nepgear tuned on her heels and headed down the hallway to the worshiping chamber.

[ Neptune ]  
"Aw man, this sucks! If I don't get more lines of dialog soon then people will begin to forget who I am. Now I know how I made everyone else feel."

She headed in the other direction of the hall to her room. But before getting very far, she notices a very large cardboard box in the hall that seemed quite out of place.

[ Neptune ]  
"Eh?! This is odd. Where did this box come from? I don't remember it being here before."

She quickly scanned over the box to see if it was of any importance. Her attention was drawn to something written on the top of it.

[ Neptune ]  
"Let's see what this says. "The contents of this box is property of Noire. If found, please return to Lastaaaaaa"aaaaand I already don't care anymore and have completely forgotten all about this box now."

With that, she continued back down the hall way while merrily skipping and humming to her self. The box was left by itself in the hall.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"...Heh, best disguise in Planetpune: confirmed!"

I said from inside the cardboard box.

* * *

When I knew I was alone again, I quickly dial up Noble on my ear piece.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Noble Senpai, I have successfully infiltrated the Planeptune Basilicom. Operation "Dodge the Bad Ending" is proceeding as planned."

[ Noble ]  
"Well that's good and all, but why are you talking with Solid Snake's voice?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"The Solid Snake voice is a necessity for any stealth operation. It completes the feel of the mission and thus has to be implemented during all spec ops."

[ Noble ]  
"If you continue talking like that, then the only thing I will be calling you is Solid Stool."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Gah! You are such a buzz kill! Anyway, it's as I told you earlier. Now that Nepgear is alone, I should be able to do the deed quickly, quietly, and clean. Now I'm not sure if you got over the fact that I will be assassinating Nepgear yet, but..."

[ Noble ]

"..."  
"...Do it."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"...Woah! I didn't expect you'd be this chill with all this."

[ Noble ]  
"Well,...while I was away, I decided to go in youtube just to take a small peek to see what happens on this route."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah I know, but believe me when I say the whole thing is bad"

[ Noble ]

"..."  
"...*sniff*..."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"...Wait,... Are you crying?"

[ Noble ]  
"...It was just a little peek. *sniff* Just 30 second. I wanted ... to see what happens to Rom. *Sniff* How could anyone bring themselves to do such a thing. I mean... I only slightly give a fuck about Ram, but Rom? ...*sniff*"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ah, don't go emo on me now. Hey, if you need to, you can hit me with it."

[ Noble ]  
" *Sniff* I don't think that will help at this moment."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"C'mon. You won't know until you try,"

[ Noble ]  
" *Sniff sniff* ...Baka..."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ha, see! You can do it if you try"

[ Noble ]  
" *Sniff* ...Baka! Baka! BAKA!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"There you go. I bet you feel better already."

[ Noble ]  
"D-D-DON'T GET THE WRONG IDEA! IT'S NOT LIKE I'M REALLY SAD OR ANYTHING! IT'S JUST THAT-!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Hey hey heyheyhey! I meant you could hit me with a little tsun. I didn't give you the go ahead to hit me with a full tsunami."

[ Noble ]  
" *Pant pant* ...Sorry. I got caught in the heat of the moment. Do what you gotta do over there. In the mean time, I think it's best if Lily and myself head to Lowee to make sure none of that shit comes here. Let me know when the deed is done."]

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Will do. Call you back soon."

With that, I cut the transmission and lifted the box up slightly so that all that was visible were my shuffling feet. I proceeded down the hall after Nepgear.

* * *

Nepgear finally made it to the main worshiping chamber of the Basilicom. She took a quick scan of the large open room to make sure she was alone. When she confirmed it was just her, she closed the door behind her and began the long treck to the alter at the far end of the chamber. Her footsteps echoed emphasizing just how large and empty the chamber really was. However, when she did her initial scan, she missed the very large cardboard box that was in the chamber with her. The large box that I hid in.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok *Inhale, exhale* I can do this. One quick snap of the neck and it will be all over. Quick, quiet and clean..."

"...UGH! The fanbase is gonna have a field-day with my ass! *Inhale, exhale* Alright, time to do this."

At that, I slowly rose to my feet lifting the box off the ground. I crept ever-so slowly down the chamber towards Nepgear, who was at the end of the chamber overlooking the alter with her back to me. It was a perfect set up. I crept counting down the distance between myself and Nepgear. 30 feet. 20 feet. 10 feet. My knuckles crack as I flexed my fingers and readied myself to pounce on the oblivious Nepgear.

[ Nepgear ]  
"...Damn, that bitch is annoying."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wha-...!"

Before I could blert out my reaction, i held my mouth and shuffled back trying to grasp what Nepgear just said.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wait ... bitch? was she referring to Neptune? Nepgear of all people calling her own sister that of all things? Wha-... what the fuck gives?!"

Nepgear who still hasn't realized my presence yet walked up to one of the windows and took a good look at her face in the reflection. Almost as if she was looking at it for the first time.

[ Nepgear ]  
"Hmm, of all the CPUs whose reflection I could of stolen, it had to be the most frail and weak willed pushover of them all."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Reflection? Stolen? What the hell is going on?"

Nepgear, or so I started to doubt, then walked back to the alter and wave her hand over it. The surface of the alter than began to glow with a strange light, and from that light appeared what look like some kind of crystal ball. She held the ball up and look at it hard as if trying to peer deep into it. It began to glow with a black like aura and a large eye appeared from within it.

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"Who dares disturb my slumber?"

It was the dark and ominous voice of the Deity of Sin that ran through the chamber. This Nepgear however didn't waiver in the slightest.

[ Nepgear? ]  
"One who simply wishes to be granted an audience with you."

Nepgear spoke with a cool and cunning tone of voice that is not fitting of her normal tone. It was completely different now.

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"The CPU candidate of Planeptune?"

"..."  
"...No ... you're someone ... something else."

[ Nepgear? ]  
"You can say that. I'm someone who has lain dormant for a while and has recently awoken. I am borrowing the reflection of this CPU candidate. The real Nepgear is trapped in the same prison that trapped me for many centuries within LAN Castle."

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"Is that so? ... Well then, why have you contacted me?"

[ Nepgear? ]  
"Well, the memories of this CPU candidate tells me that you wish to bring chaos and destruction to all of Gamindustri."

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"What of it?"

Nepgear gives a confident nod.

[ Nepgear? ]  
"Well, I believe there is a way we can help one another. I seek to eliminate the other CPUs personally. You would be free to decimate Gamindustri without any resistance. And In return, I will inherit the world when the dust settles."

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"You plan to rule a world of ash?"

[ Nepgear? ]  
"Hmph, unlike the CPUs, I rose from nothing. And I worked hard to get the power to rival them. And now I am here. With how well I manipulated people in the past, it would be easy to bend the hopeless to my will."

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"You are bold indeed for making this proclamation to me and even bolder for trying to take on the CPUs by yourself."

[ Nepgear? ]  
"No need to worry about that anymore. There was no way I could take them all united if I made a move, but that's been taken care of. With them divided and their trust in one another all but shattered, they will be easy pickings when I track them down one by one. However, in order to make my end of the bargain easier, I am going to need something from you."

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"And that would be...?"

[ Nepgear? ]  
"We can discuss that in person. I got a few things to take care of here. I shall meet with you in the Gamindustri Graveyard at a later time."

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"Very well, I shall wait for you here and we can discuss the matter further."

[ Nepgear? ]  
"Good. I look forward to the future of this alliance."

With that, the dark presence of the Deity of Sin dispersed from the crystal ball. Nepgear let out a very satiefied sigh and step away from the alter and out of my view.

Once again I was left speechless in the wake of what I just witnessed. I was barely able to contain myself inside the box from all the emotions I was feeling as the meeting was going on

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"No way! Is this really happening? This Nepgear isn't the real one, but a fake that's actually plotting with the Deity of Sin to destroy the CPUs and bring ruin to Gamindustri? ... Ok I know the whole 'CPU is actually an evil fake' cliché has been recycled to the bone, but this actually works out for me. I can kill this fake without any regrets, find the real Nepgear, bring her back her, have all the CPUs make up, and finally get my happy ending!..."

"..."  
"...xxBigPhilxx 2016..."  
"Alright, this is perfect. I can see the sunshine and rainbow ending yet. I so happy right now! I just got to make sure I get the quick drop on her. I don't want to directly fight the person who was able to drop Iris Heart without even trying."

I said all this from within the box. ... ... which is no longer there. In fact, all that i could see when I looked up now was a pair of white shoes. Further up, a pair of pink and white stockings. Further up, a jacket with a fancy school-girl like design. And finally, I ended on the face of Nepgear who was looking at me on my hands and knees in bewilderment while holding the cardboard box overhead.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]

"..."

"Uuuuhhhhh..."  
"..."

"...Hi..."

"..."

-Chapter End-

-Author's Notes-

It might be a while before the next chapter. I want to try and make some fan-art for this fan-fic. Hope to get the next chapter up soon though.


	4. Chap 4: The Shadow Suit DLC

_-Author's Notes-_

 _Sorry for the wait. I wanted to put up some fan-art to give the readers a better picture of what is actually going on and the appearence of some of the O.C.s I have. Hopefully, I can post them on my twitter soon._

-Chapter 4: "The Shadow Suit DLC."-

So there I was. Face to face with Nepgear. Or rather someone wearing the face of Nepgear. Having eavesdropped on her conversation, I knew the true intent of whoever it was that I stood before. Someone who intended to use Nepgears face to divide the nations, kill off the CPUs one by one, and take over all of Gamindustri with the help of the Deity of Sin. For the most part, she played the part of Nepgear perfectly to this point. Being able to not only look like her, but also have her knowledge, experiece, and even personality. If things played out the way she intended, then she would probably succeed and no one would suspect anything was wrong until it was too late. The good news is that there is that I know the truth of this ploy. However, the bad news is that the master mind now knows that I know and is staring me in the face. I quickly get up and dust myself off as I try to maintain a some what innocent look.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uh ... heh heh ...Hi..."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Uh ... Hi ... Um, how long have you been in this room?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Actually, not that long. I just accidentally stumbled in here while looking for the bathroom."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Oh, I see..."

She finally discarded the cardboard box I was hiding in earlier. Then she shot me a cute smile.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Well, if you really need to know how to find your way through the Basilicom, I'll be glad to point you in the right direction."

She takes a step foward. I reacted by taking a step back.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"No no! I'll just see my self out."

She then takes two steps foward. I responded with taking two steps back.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Oh, that's a shame. "

She Blushes

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
" I mean, it's not often that a nice, handsome man visits the Basilicom."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uh, well. ... I don't ..."

To be fair, she played the "moe" role well. However, I quickly remembered her revealing her true intentions moments before which led me to take notice that she crept her hand behind her back at some point.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"... OH SHI-!"

On impulse, I took a quick jump back. As it turns out, my judgement was well places as a swoosh sound came from in front of me. Nepgear drew her beam sword and tried to take a slash at my chest. A second later and my chest would of been spit open. I landed a few feet back and got into a defensive stance as Nepgear shot me an annoyed look.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Hmph. I was hoping that strike would of killed you. It's no mystery that you been here to witness me letting my secret out just now."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well you would be correct. I know some juicy big secrets about you. And I intend to either let that secret out to all of Gameindustri, or better yet succeed in assassinating you here like I intended in the first place."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"You may try, but I can assure you that you will be taking all of your secrets to the grave."

She readied her saber and charged at me with a series of quick thrusts. They were accurate, fast and each which the intent to kill. Luckly for me, I have a good deal of experience in hand to hand combat from my pass adventures in this dimension as well as the dimension i came from. I was able to evade her barrage of slashes. She then appeared to ready a forward thrust to which I took a step back, but it was a fake attack and she took a step in and readied an over head slash. Unable to move away in time, I decided to show a literal trick up my sleeve. I shot one of my forearms up to meet her saber. Much to this fake Nepgear's surprise, there was a metal clank and her blade was stopped dead. Seizing the opportunity, I tried to throw my fist at her with my free hand. She saw this coming and tried to dodge back out of range, but a blunt force was generated around my fist and it was able to graze her cheek a little. When she gathered her senses, she observed what I just brought into the fight.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Tonfas? How quaint."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah I know they're not all that practical, but I prefer being up close and personal while fighting my opponents. I'm a bit of a pummeler like that."

I give my pair of Tonfas a quick flick of the wrist and they spung within my hands.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"But to be fair, your close-quarter combat skills are quite formidable too. I'm willing to bet Iris Heart really didn't have a chance against you after all. Not if you fought her seriously like you are now."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Hmph. She was no threat. The real challenge was convincing everyone I was still Nepgear while fighting her."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well it worked. But with me knowing the real you, I won't feel guilty going all out on ya. So it's gonna take more than that to get rid of me."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Hmm, well if it will take more than that, then ..."

With that, she moved her open hand to her side and then drew Malice Blade. It was at it's weakest state since it has yet to spill the blood of a CPU. It was just a normal sword at this point, but a sword that could still kill me if a clean enough cut landed. It definitely got my attention as my eyes widened at the very sight of it. Without hesitation, the fake Nepgear charged me with both Malice Blade and her beam saber. I was instantly put on the defensive without much room to breath. Thankfully the defensive nature of my titanium tonfas managed to halt most of her attacks. Soon I was backed up to the alter of the worshiping chamber. With nowhere to go, Nepgear tried to finish me off with a flurry of stabs. I beat them all back and dove forward and managed to roll behind her. She followed me and I readied a stance. the fake took a quick look at my stance and saw an opening to my chest and instantly aimed a thrust at it. As I intended.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(Leave an opening your opponent can't refuse. And at the last second...)

At the last second, I ducked under her strike by a paper thin margin. I then step in and struck Nepgear in the gut with my tonfa before she could react. She gasp as it was a direct hit. I followed up with wrapping my arm around her upper body. I spung around with her in my grip and at the peak of my rotation, I threw her into a row of benches. She went crashing through them and was burried in the debris of the collision. Everything was still and I took a moment to catch my breath knowing it was not over.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"*pant pant* Alright... *pant* Your skills in combat are impressive. What else you got?"

After saying this, the debris that burried Nepgear was suddenly blasted away by a ball of light. When the light faded, the figure of Nepgear in her HDD form appeared.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"...SHE FUCKING HAS THE HDD?!"

She stretch out her open hand and the default gun blade of Nepgear materialized in her hand. She then aimed it directly at me.

[ Fake Purple Sister ]  
"This ends now!"

She fired a series of shots at me. I managed to evade all of them by guessing where she was aiming and beating her to the shot and flailing around. during my drunk monkey dance, she blitzed me without me seeing her approach and came at me with a slash. I barely had enough time to react before I put both tonfas in front of me in an attempt to guard myself. Though I blocked the blade, the force of the attack sent me flying and I tumbled on the ground when I landed. Again she shot at me while charging. I put a tonfa up to meet her slash, but the attack effortlessly sliced my tonfa in half. The handle then disintegrated into a flash of digital dust. I tried to punch her with my remaining tonfa, but she batted it out of my hand and up in the air. She then cut it in half with her blade on the way down and caused it to explode into digital dust too. Seeing that I was unarmed, she lunged to finish me of. Now was a good time as any to reveal the ultimate aid the Vapor Syndicate has granted me for this situation. Before her blow landed, i reached over my shoulder and grabbed hold of the pack I've had strapped to my back this whole time. I pulled it in front of me to intercept the strike of Nepgear. Her attack was blocked completely and the impact knocked us both back. Nepgear looked at me bewildered.

[ Fake Purple Sister ]  
"Wh-what?!"

As she looked on, the black cloth that covered my pack fell off from the cut of the last attack. What laid underneath was a black pack of chrome and titanium with some black cloth fabrics and a large silver cone in front of it.

[ Fake Purple Sister ]  
"What ... is ... That?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well I'm glad you asked. You know those super hero comics, shows and movies where one of the heroes is a normal man but has a nice tech suit that boosts his ability and allows him to fight super humans, mutants, aliens and gods?"

[ Fake Purple Sister ]  
"What of it?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well, allow me to show you the equalizer in this fight. Clench your butt, boo boo!"

I held my metallic pack overhead. I then flip a switch and twisted the two handle bars on the back. The pack than opened up and began to branch out into black metallic arms. I then placed the pack on top of my head and shoulders and outstretched my arms to the side. The pack then began to wrap around my upper body and began to encase me in titanium, kevlar and chrome type body armor. Cloth then materialized into hakama style pants on my lower body and a black cape on my back. Then my face was covered by a black face plate that stemmed from my helmet. And finally, I placed the wide cone on the from of the pack on my head which extended to form a kevlar and chrome jingasa on my head. The packs transformation on my body was complete.

[ Fake Purple Sister ]  
"Wha-what is this?"

I sized up Nepgear confidently in my new tech body suit.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"The Shadow Suit DLC, boo boo. Guaranteed to make even the flabbiest of otakus able to stand up to a goddess in HDD form."

I said this as I gripped my hands and a pair of plasma blades that were shaped like my tonfas materialized.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Now then, the final round."

The fake Nepgear gritted her teeth then charged at me with her gun blade. Thanks to the Shadow Suit DLC however, my agility and reflexes where heightened and I out blitzed her and knocked her back. She then tried to take to the air to shoot me from a far. I met this by activating the boosters on my heels and pursued her in the air. I met her blow for blow during out clashes in the air as the fight slowly began to turn in my favor. She tried to shoot a round into my head, but it easily was reflected off my jingasa. She took the fight back to the ground and I followed her. This time, she held her gun blade in one hand and the Malice Blade in the other. She began to assault me with a flurry of slashes, but she couldn't break my defensive and I just bid my time for an opening. It came in the form of her attempting a cross slash from the outside. I planted my plasma blades into the ground and stopped the attack. Nepgear's center was wide open and I arched one of my legs back to deliver a powerful kick.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I like to take a moment to apologize for the waifu beating I am about to lay down."

With that, I activated the thruster on my heel and kicked my foot right into her gut. Her face writhed in pain as the blow launched her off her feet and flying back. I then kneeled down and charged both of my thrusters and flew at Nepgear. Before she could react, I plunged a fist into her abdomen and followed up with an upper cut to her jaw and launched her into the air. I gripped my plasma blades and flew up into the air after her. She shot a few shots at me a few times, but I managed to dodge all of them. When the distance was finally closed, we traded blows. I then delivered a drop kick to her head and she fell back to the ground. I landed myself and looked over the situation. She staggered back to her feet battered and bruised, but far from being defeated. Knowing that I was pushing my Shadow Suit DLC to its limits, I check the status of it with the display on my forearm. It showed it had about a minute worth of power left. I needed to finish up and deal with her quickly before the suit loses power.

[ Fake Purple Sister ]  
"Damn, I didn't have enough time to get used to this body. This wouldn't of happened if I could of fought at my full potential."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Whelp, guess we will never know how good you would be at your best, huh? Now to finish you off, find the real Nepgear, and prevent the fall of Gamindistri. You got any last word?"

She looked at me while gritting her teeth. Obviously she knew she couldn't take me head on again. Suddenly, her eyes shifted to something behind me and her eyes lit up as it took her full attention.

[ Fake Purple Sister ]  
"Look! It's the uncensored edition of Nekopara vol. 3!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"WHERE?!"

I quickly turned around to find ... nothing there.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"..."

"..."

" ...Ah fu-!"

And it was at this moment, that I knew ... I fucked up. Yes, this moment where I had my head turned and the fake Purple Sister plunged a fist into the side of my jaw. My face mask protected me from anything lethal, but the blow still sent me flying out of the window. Before I knew it I hit the pavement hard and tumbled a bit before coming to a stop. I lain there as several civilians looked at me questionably. I slowly rose to my feet as the clatter of new footsteps began to surround me. This time, a unit of armed guards met me. I quickly rose my open hands up.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
" ... Uh, I can explain. Y-You see what happened was-..."

Before I could explain the situation, a loud cry came from the broken window of the Basilicom.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"WAAAAHHHHH!"

The fake Nepgear already deactivated her HDD form and returned to her human form. She also took on the innocent moe persona of the Nepgear everyone was familiar with. She then pointed a finger at me.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"He tried to force me to do an H scene with him!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"OH THAT IS BULLSHIT! I did not partake in any H scenes since I got here!"

"..."

"..."

I turned away from everyone and put a hand to my mouth as I muttered under my breath.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"...To say that getting involved in one wouldn't be a highlight of this trip would be a lie, but still..."

As I was saying this, I heard metallic clicks coming from around me. The armed guards drew their fire arms and aimed them all at me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
" ...Uh ... uh ... uuuuuuuuaaaaaaAAAAAHHHHH!"

I imidiately activated the thrusters on my heels and tried to dash away. The guards then fired a hail of bullets at me. My suit protected me from the lethal shots, but i felt the sting of a few rounds.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ow ow OW owowowow! Why Is this happening?!"

I located the nearest bulding and ran up the wall of it to the roof. I caught my breath and turned to face everyone below.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Will you all sto-!"

I was interupted by a rocket flying at me

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"...oh..."

The rocket exploded almost in my face and I am sent flying. Realizing that I was in trouble, I tried to regain my balance and fly away towards the border of Planeptune at full speed with what little power my suit still had, but a volley of rockets kept me from flying straight. One of the blast spun me around and I was met with the sight of ten rockets about to hit me at the same time.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"GODDAMN IT!"

I said this just before they exploded at the same time at a single point. Luckily, the blunt of the explosion was away from me, but the force still sent me hurdling down to the ground. I bounced quite a few times before I came to a dead stop in the dirt right at the border of Planeptune. I lain there unable to move with my face in the dirt. Then a clicking and whirling sound came from my suit and a female automated voice came from it.

[ Shadow Suit DLC ]  
"Shadow Suit DLC has run out of power. Switching to stand by mode. Thank you for your patronage."

With a click the Shadow Suit began to open up and collapse and expose my body. It formed back onto my back as the standard pack it normally is. I laid there a few seconds before I began to rise up again. I was dazed, battered and bruised, but nothing a few hours out of combat couldn't fix.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uhg, ... It hurts ... Everything hurts."

I rose to my feet, still barely able to maintain my balance. I took one final look back at Planeptune, then I limped as fast as I could away from it's border while holding my hurt arm, knowing I couldn't go back any time soon. I retreated a failure. Left with only scars and the reminder that I blew my one chance to make any of this right myself.

-Chapter End-

 _-Author's Notes-_

 _Sorry if it was so wordy. Once again, I hope to post some fan-art of this fan-fic on my twitter soon._


	5. Chap 5: Making Friends in Low Places

-Arthor's Notes-

 _I'M SORRY! I said I would have fanart up soon. I just got artist block, decided to work on just a tiny portion of the next chapter, and before I kew it, it was done. I'll try to get some character pics up soon. No promises, but I'll try... :(_

-Chapter 5: "Making Friends in Low Places"-

After being kicked out of Planeptune via mortar shells and missiles, I put all my energy into putting as much distance between me and Planeptune's boarders. I eventually found myself deep in a forest. The thick woods provided suitable cover as it would allow me to lose any pursuers who may be coming after me. Thinking I was in the clear, I sat down exhausted from all the running. After a few deep breaths, I removed the Shadow Suit DLC pack from my back. It was banged up good so I tried to check it over to make sure it wasn't damaged beyond repair. It look like it wasn't permanently damaged, but it was dinged up enough that it must of knocked the power core out of place. I began to try to do work on it and at the same time try to get back in communication with Noble to tell him what just happened. However-...

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Noble? Noble are you there?"

Nothing but the sound of static came through the other end. I tried again as I tinkered with the Shadow Suit.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Damn it? Noble can you hear me? ... Lily? ... Noble? ...Anybody? Grr...Shit really hit the helicopter something fierce."

I sighed and gave up on trying to contact them for the time being and focused on getting the DLC suit working again. I began to start wacking it out of fustration more than anything.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Damn! Lily makes maintaining these things look easy."

"..."

"Then again, it would be a lie if I said I didn't pushed the suit to its limit."

My train of thought then went to the person who I just fought not too long ago. The person who was disguised as Nepgear.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Also, who was that anyway? Arfoire? ... Nah, she's good and dead in the Gamindustri Graveyard. Linda? ... Can't be. Though she impersonated someone before, there is no way in hell she would be that powerful and that effective in combat. That was...someone or something else."

I sighed as I remembered why the suit was damaged in the first place. The fight with the false Nepgear hours ago. I was close to taking care of this mess myself, but dropped the ball. I bashed my forehead with my fist a few times to remind me of the pain of failure. After a few more minutes of tinkering. The pack finally made a powering up humming noise, the tall tale sign that the suit was ready to be used again. Though I doubt I would get the same opportunity I had before.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
" ... *Sigh* I can use this suit again, but it doesn't do me jack if I can't get close to whoever that was impersonating Nepgear again. By now, I'm probably put on all the watchlists in Planeptune and would probably be killed on sight."

I strapped the pack to my back and just stood there with my arms crossed deep in thought.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(Ok, so let's see. Nepgear has been compromised and has been replaced with a fake. A fake that wishes to conquer Gamindustri and probably want to kill the other CPUs and feed that cursed blade to boost her own power. Not only has she got the appearance of Nepgear down to the last detail, but her personality, memories, experience, and even her HDD form. Plus she seemed to know her own bit of magic and martial arts to boot. Without knowing all this, the other CPUs will no doubt be fooled. She'll be free to kill them and they will be non the wiser.

"..."

"The only person who knows the truth is me. That would count for something if I was somebody important. I'm less than even a side character here. Me knowing the truth really doesn't do Gamindustry good and I can't do anything on my own.)

I hung my head down low as the feeling of helplessness swept over me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]

(I guess all I can do is ... pack up and go home, huh? I don't owe anything to this world and the world doesn't owe me anything either. I mean, that's Dawin's law for ya. If the other Nations and their CPU are strong enough to meet this threat, then they will beat it and life goes on. ... If the other nations and CPUs are not strong enough on the other hand. ...)

I thought of the outcome of that in my. The images could be summed up as piles of corpsed among a world on fire.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"..."

"..."

"... No. You know what..."

I slammed a fist into the palm of my other hand.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"FUCK THAT!"  
"Fuck Dawin!"  
"Fuck what's rational"  
"Fuck how insignificant I am!"  
"FUCK ALL THAT SHIT!"  
"So what if I am currently the only one who knows the truth. One person knowing is more than enough to stop all this from happening. One snowflake is all that is needed to start a snowball effect, and I intend to bury who ever that was under the resulting avalanche that is one pissed off gamer who is denied his good ending. I don't know how I'm gonna do it, but before this is all done, I'm gonna shove the karma boot so far up that bitches ass that a dentist will have to remove it. With the power of this Shadow Suit, I will be able to rip through what ever she throws at me and-..."

"and-..."

"..."

"..."

"...Oh no!"  
"...I'm going full Chuuibyou! UUUGH!"

I quickly gave my face a few good slaps to knock myself back to reality.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"*Pant Pant* Alright, time to be serious here. I still need to be rational from here on out."

I began to march at a quick pace in no particular direction.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Like I said, I can't just go back there guns blazing. I need to do something first. I need to get back in contact with Noble. And I probably figure out what happened to the real Nepgear. Now where do I-"

As I was marching along, my foot suddenly got caught on something and I stumbled.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"WHA-!"

I tripped and hit the ground hard. I quickly arched up and looked back to see what I tripped on and found-

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Huh ... wha ... Plutia?"

I turned to find Plutia who was fast asleep while sitting up against a tree and holding a plushy of Neptune. Her legs were kicked straight out which is what I tripped on.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(Wait, this is perfect. If I can at least get Plutia to believe me, then that's one person with an ounce of credibility who now knows too. That's gotta count for something.)

I crawled over to her and place a hand on her shoulder and began to shake her a bit.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Plutia? Hey, Plutia?

She didn't respond so I shook her a little harder.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Hey come on, Plutia. I really need you to wake up now."

After a few more jerks, she then began to stir and her eyeslids started to twitch. Finally, her eyes opened up and we made eye contact. There was a short pause as she tried to analize who I was, then she put on a casual smile.

[ Plutia ]  
"Oh helloooooo, mister. Sorry, I kind of fell asleep there."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah sorry for waking you, but what are you doing here?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Weeeeellllll, I came out here to think. You see, I have this friend. And this friend is nice, but recently, someone appeared and was threatening to destroy Gamindustri. My friend came up with a plan to defeat her, but it would involve hurting all of my other friends and making them miserable. Sooooo I tried to fight her and teach her a lesson in hopes that she'd see the eeeeerror of her ways."

The friendly smile she had up to this point as she closed her eyes and remembered the outcome of her altercation with the fake Nepgear. She now was frowning as she had a sad look in her eyes.

[ Plutia ]  
"...but I failed. I couldn't beat her. I let all my friends down because I couldn't stop her from turning on them. So I came here in the middle of this forest to try and think of what to do next. But I soon got bored and doooooozed off."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well I'm sorry to hear all that, but let me tell you a little secret."

I kneeled down so that I was face to face with Plutia.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"what if I told you that the Nepgear you fought was an imposter."

[ Plutia ]  
"Huuuuuh? An imposter?"

Plutia's eyes lit up, generally curious about my proclamation.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yes! After you left, I tried to take matters into my own hands by assassinating Nepgear. Before I could, I eavesdropped on her talking to the Deity of Sin. She said she was someone other then Nepgear and wanted to work with the Deity of Sin to kill off the other CPUs and bring chaos to Gamindustri."

[ Plutia ]

"Reeeeaaaalllllllyyyyyyy? What did you do after that?

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well I tried to fight her. Turns out she was way out of your league from the beginning. She had damn near super martial arts skill."

[ Plutia ]  
"Sooooo, she beat you in combat too?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Nah, she tricked me with-..."

"..."

"...yes...So now she has everyone fooled and will most likely kill them when she has the chance."

I clap my hands together and bowed my head to her.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"So right now, I really need your help in revealing to the other CPUs that the Nepgear they know is a fraud in disguise. If they don't know the real threat when it come to meet them, they will be killed and Gamindustri will be reduced to ash. You don't want to see the world burn, right?"

She put a finger to her chin while she thought about it, then her face tensed up as she really had to think about the answer.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"...NO! You do NOT want to see the world burn. You want to SAVE it because you are not THAT sadistic!"

[ Plutia ]  
"Ooooh. You're right. I guess i really don't want to watch the world end because it will get sooooo lonely without my friends or anyone else."

She finally bounded to her feet with a new found enthusiasim and smiled at me while holding her Neptune plushy.

[ Plutia ]  
"Alright, I want to help save the world and all my friends. ... Sooooo, what should we do."

I sighed in relief knowing that at least one other person is on the same page as me, but I still had to take a serious perspective on the situation.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well right now we really can do anything. We both failed at our attempts to drop who ever is parading as Nepgear. And on top of that, I'm sure she's got me on Planeptune's watchlist so I'd be dead the moment I step foot in that nation again. Our best bet is to find out what happened to the real Nepgear and let the CPUs of the other nations know what's really going on."

[ Plutia ]  
"Ok, but can we go to Lastation first then? I really want to see Noire badly and make sure she's ok."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"...Actually that's not a half bad idea. We are the closest to that nation right now, but we better hurry so we can beat the fake Nepgear there. Plus we got a lot of monsters between us and Lastation. We should take our time grinding and getting experience for the fight to come."

[ Plutia ]  
"Yaaaaaayyyyyyy! ... Buuuuuuut..."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"What is it?"

[ Plutia ]

"Can you ... giiiiive me a piggy back ride for the trip?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]

"..."

"... You're bat-shit crazy if you think I'm carrying you anymore than half the trip. Now let's hop to it."

I begin to walk off into the direction of Lastation.

[ Plutia ]  
"Awwwww."

Plutia sounded degected, but she soon followed after me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(Well this is a good step in the right direction, but we are gonna need much more help to stop what ever we are up against. I just hope we can get enough man power needed to prevent this catastrophe before it's too late. I may not know how exactly I am gonna do it yet, but I'm giving this blind path every ounce of effort for the time being.)

[ Plutia ]  
"By the wayyyyy, My name is Plutia! What's yours?

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uh, you can call me xxBigPhilxx."

[ Plutia ]  
"Yay, nice to meet you."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uh, like wise I guess."

I continue to walk down the path to Lastation and Plutia was following close behind me.

-Chapter End-

 _It might be a while before the next chapte. I really want to try to get some character profile pics up before the next one. Of course I say that now just like I did the last time, but..._


	6. Chap 6: Quid Pro Quo

Chapter 6: "Quid Pro Quo"

The Gamindustri Graveyard. Resting place of obsolete consoles, makers, and even CPUs of the past. Truly the Hell on Gamindustri that very few people dare enter. However, on this day, the figure of one person wearing a hooded robe that covers her face walks into the Gameindustri Graveyard almost in a casual manor. This person makes her way to the very center of the graveyard and stands to wait. Soon enough, the ground begins to shake and a black cloud rose out of the ground. The dark cloud swirled in front of the hooded figure who stood there unmoved and a dark voice finally emanated from it.

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"So, it would seem that the pretender is brave enough to meet me face to face after all."

The figure finally removed her hood to reveal the face of Nepgear. She stood before the Deity of Sin without a hint of fear. In fact, there wasn't a hint of emotion what so ever. When the time came to put on the performance of Nepgear, her expressions were flawless. However, when that persona was dropped, that face would be absolutely blank. Her eyes were empty, soulless, blank. This is the face she would meet the Deity of Sin with.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"You underestimate me. This reflection is a perfect copy. Down to even her HDD form. Soon enough, my strength will fully return and I can track down the other CPUs without restraint."

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"A bold claim, but seeing as you are confident enough to meet me in person like this, I assume you are serious with this task."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"That I am, but we should keep this brief. I managed to slip away from Planeptune unnoticed, but the others will surly suspect something if I am gone for too long. Best we keep this brief."

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"Very well. You said earlier that you would need something from me to aid you in this task. What is it?"

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Just a little insurance policy to help me with my endeavor. Nothing too extreme, just a fraction of your essence."

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"A fraction of me? I had deployed fragments of myself to do my bidding before. They all … failed against the CPUs. What makes you so sure that giving you one would fare any better?"

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"With all due respect, those fragments didn't have the magic I am capable of bestowed upon them. This fragment will be put to good use."

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"Hm…"

After a short pause of silence, the dark energy that was the Deity of Sin began to swirl. Then the cloud soon collapsed and condense to a single point. There was a bright light and a shockwave that emanated from that point. When the dust settled, the Fake Nepgear walked up to the epicenter where she found a crystal what glowed a dark purple aura. The fake Nepgear casually picked up the crystal and inspected it briefly.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Excellent! This will do nicely"

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"I do not like giving my power to others for their own agenda, so you best make sure this is beneficial to me in the end."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Do not worry. You will have the door open to Gamindustri. All resistance will be dealt with when you unleash your fury on the world."

[ Deity of Sin ]  
"…You better pray that you do. I do not so mercy to those who fail me."

With that, the cloud of dark energy dissipated and sunk back into the ground. The Fake Nepgear was left there alone. She gave one final look over the crystalized fragment of the Deity of Sin, then she tuned on her heel and left the Gamindustri Graveyard as if she was just taking a casual stroll through the park.

* * *

I continued my trek to Lastation. I anticipated that we will get there within a few hours, but with Plutia in tow, it goes without saying that the hike was much slower than I would like. Making the most of a bad situation, I made sure I fought all the monsters we happened to pass for the much needed experience. I really don't know how big the threat is now, but I figured a few more levels wouldn't hurt.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"DING!"

[ Plutia ]

"…"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"… One time! I'm just asking for one time!"

[ Plutia ]  
" *Sigh* …Graaaaaatz"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Thank you. That makes this whole journey worth it."

[ Plutia ]  
"Well since I made you happy, can we take a break?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"What?! You were taking a nap when I found you barely an hour ago. We have to pick up the pace if we are to get to Noire before that fake gets to her."

[ Plutia ]  
"Just 10 minutes."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"NO!"

I barked my response and Plutia paused. Then her eyes narrowed as a sign that she was angry with me.

[ Plutia ]  
"… So, if I can't ask you nicely … then …"

All of a sudden, Plutia erupted in a flash of light. This herald her HDD form. Sure enough, the next image I was greeted with was Iris Heart with a most sinister grin on her face.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]

"…"

[ Iris Heart ]  
"Heh heh heh. Perhaps I should thank you for pushing all of my right buttons, because now I have you to be my outlet for my anger."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]

"…"

[ Iris Heart ]  
"Not only was I defeated to this fake, but I was left in pain, utterly humiliated, and left helpless to stop her from hurting my friends. I doubt you know what that feels like. So why don't I give you a taste."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]

"…"

[ Iris Heart ]  
"The pain and humiliation I have been dealt, I shall bestow them on to you a thousand fold. And you will experience suffering that you would never comprehend in a mortal lifetime. When all is finished, you will be begging for my forgiveness and then maybe I will give you the break you didn't give me. How does that sound my little pet?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"For the record, I'm a masochist."

[ Iris Heart ]

"…"

"…"

"…damn!"

Iris Heart had a huffy look on her face. She then bust into a flash of light and returned to her human form.

[ Plutia ]  
"Aaaaawwwwweeeee, I guess it won't be very satisfying if you enjoy it, huh?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"True, but seriously. We are in a bit of a bind here. We got to suck it up and keep trucking for the sake of Gamindustri and your friends."

[ Plutia ]  
"I suppose you're right. Buuuuuuuut, how about after we save everyone?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…we'll cross that bridge when we get there. Now let's hop to it."

[ Plutia ]  
"Ooooooooh, OooooooooK…."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Gah, curse me for being in the right place at the right time."

With that, we continued to Lastation at a Plutia's pace. All the while having a feeling that some unseen dark force was growing far away.

-Chapter End-


	7. Chap 7: Framed

-Arthor's Notes-

 _Take a moment to follow me on twitter at DLC_xxBigPhilxx where I may put up polls in the future that could affect the plot in the future based on the votes of the fans._

Chapter 6: "Framed'

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ah! We finally made it."

I said this as I looked down at the view that was the capital city of Lastation. It took some to get here and I was relieved to set eyes on it.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Here we are. Lastation, our destination. You can… ya know… wake up now, Plutia!"

I said this to Plutia, who I was carrying on my back. She like she promised, she managed to keep up until the halfway point, and then she decided she wanted a nap for the rest of the way. I had to reattach the Shadow Suit to my chest to make room for her. Normally I wouldn't mind, but a fun fact I discovered was that Plutia likes to drool in her sleep. She managed to make a wet trail from my shoulder all the way down to my sock. It was more than slightly agitating.

[ Plutia ]  
"*zzzzz*"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Plutia?"

[ Plutia ]  
"*zzzzz*"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Grrr…"

"…"

"…Hey look! It's the Nepgear imposter all tied up and chained to a table with medieval torture devices on it!"

[ Plutia ]  
"*Snort!* Huh wha really?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"No."

[ Plutia ]  
"Awwwwwwww…"

Seeing as she was now roused from her nap, I placed Plutia back on her own two feet. I reattached the Shadow Suit on my back again while Plutia looked down at Lastation.

[ Plutia ]  
"Yay! We finally made it!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah. A bit of good news there."

I then face Plutia with the most serious tone and expression I can muster.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok, what we gotta do now is meet directly with Noire. We tell her that the Nepgear she knows is a fake. Hopefully she can spread the word to the other CPUs and they won't be caught by surprise and will at least have more of a fighting chance against her."

I nod as this plan sounds flawless in my head.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Plutia, Noire will believe a friend like you well before she believes a nobody like me. I am counting on you to convince Noire of the truth."

[ Plutia ]  
"Don't worry. I'm pretty sure she'll believe me. If she doesn't …"

Her eyes narrow as a mischievious expression formed on her face.

[ Plutia ]  
"Then I'll make her believe me in the … "fuuuuun" way."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Plutia, can you please keep Sadie in the closet for the time being."

[ Plutia ]  
"Ooooooh, OK."

We made our way down to the front gate into the city. There were several guards stationed there. By the looks of it, the security of the city is on high alert. I take a second to hope that the security isn't so tight that they would turn is away. As we approach them, one of the guards threw a hand up at us.

[ Gate Guard ]  
"Halt!"

Obedietntly, me and Plutia both stop in our tracks.

[ Gate Guard ]  
"What business do you two have in Lastation?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oh, uh, greetings. We are just here hoping to gain an audience with the CPU of Lastation."

[ Gate Guard ]  
"Humph, we can't half hazardly take your word. The nations are at each other's throats and we can't risk our security by having outsiders come into our boarders."

I was almost at a loss for words, but Plutia decided come up and try. But I was relieved that it sounds like the fake Nepgear hasn't made it here yet.

[ Plutia ]  
"Pleeeeeeeeease? I really want to see my friend."

[ Gate Guard ]  
"You too? Sorry but we can't just let you pass either."

[ Plutia ]  
"Awwwwwe."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Listen, I understand how dire the situation is and you are just doing your jobs, but I have some dirty secrets on the CPU of Planeptune."

[ Gate Guard ]  
"Is that so?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yes! We have some very important information regarding Nepgear. And if Noire doesn't know about it, then there's a very good chance she could be killed when the CPUs of Planeptune come here."

The gate guard took on a serious expression as it seemed my point got through to him.

[ Gate Guard ]  
"I don't know. I'll need to ask my superiors if I am to give you clearance."

He then pressed his ear piece in order to contact his boss. I turned to Plutia

[ Plutia ]  
"You think they will let us in?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Hopefully. I'm pretty sure they will let us pass. As long as we don't look like an enemy. We should be-"

As I say this, a television monitor that was showing live news feed next to the gate suddenly sounded with a flash fanfare. It was the Nepstation logo. When it vanished, the news podium appeared with both Neptune and Nepgear, or in this case the fake, standing behind it.

[ Neptune ]  
"Great day in the morning, my fellow Gamindusticans. It's your hosts, the super funny and always addicting Neptune, and my cool and super intelligent younger sister Nepgear!"

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Sa-salutations everyone…"

[ Plutia ]  
"Oooooohhhhh! It's Neppy and Neppy Jr.!"

"…"

"…And Neppy Jr. …"

At first Plutia was ecstatic at first, but her face tuned into an agitated sneer the moment she laid her eyes on the fake Nepgear.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Calm down, Plutia. Don't go crazy here. Wait till we get her alone and you can have at it. And I'll be there with a cam so we can watch the recording to lull us to sleep every night. "

With our aggravated comments out of the way, Plutia and I focused on the apparent Gamindustri wide broadcast from Planeptune.

[ Neptune ]  
"Our top story today is … … … the final boss has reared its ugly head. And it threatens the whole of Gamindustri … … the usual that happens at the climax."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Y-yes, we are in a bit of a dire situation, but we would like all the citizens of Gamindustri to know that Planeptune will do everything in our power to defeat this enemy.

As we were watching, Plutia tugged on my sleeve and pulled me to the side.

[ Plutia ]  
"Um, Neppy is … the real Neppy right?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"As far as I can tell. I highly doubt she is in on this whole thing too."

[ Plutia ]  
"Hmm, but it's really hard to tell Neppy Jr. is a fake."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"True, but do you think the real Nepgear would suggest her friends sacrifice their shares in order to boost her own power?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Hmm, I guess you're right. "

[ Neptune ]  
"Yes we tried to communicate with the other nations to help the both of us, but negotiations with them in this matter have been a bit on the rocky side."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Yes, though we might do some drastic things to the other nations, but we hope what the citizens of Gamindustri know that all the actions we take will be for the good of the whole world. Even if the other nations go through hard times, all our friends will live."

[ Gate Guard A ]  
"Live? Well will starve in the state of poverty that would follow."

[ Gate Guard B ]  
"I never thought the CPU candidate of Paneptune would sink to such lows."

Hearing their banter, I decided to let them in on the secret.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well, if you want to know some dirt I got on Nepgear, then-…"

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"But we would like to let the citizens know that we are taking measures to ensure that the other nations don't try to hinder our attempt to save Gamindustri. One such measure is enlisting spies to infiltrate the other nations and supply us with some of their top secrets."

[ Neptune ]  
"Huh? Spies? Since when did we hire spies?"

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Oh. Uh, I thought it was a necessary precaution so we would know if the other nations were going to … well … attack us."

[ Neptune ]  
"Ah! Gee, that's my genius imouto for ya! Taking the initiative and not telling her precious oneechan. *Sigh.*"

[ Gate Guard A ]  
"Spies now? Has she no shame?"

[ Gate Guard B ]  
"I like to cross paths with one who would be willing to infiltrate our nation in order to cause its downfall."

I was curious as well as to these spies this Nepgear had employed. If they do succeed in getting top secret information from the other nations, it would mean big trouble for them.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"So with that in mind, I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the achievements of one of our most dedicated spies."

At that moment, they put the image of their supposed spy on the screen. It was the faint image of a man who wore a black buttoned up shirt and a black fedora that was all too familiar to me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(Wait …. Is … is that … ME?!)

The image was indeed a picture of me sneaking around the Planeptune's Basilicom. It looked like it was taken straight from a security camera and showed my profile completely.

[ Neptune ]  
"Oh, so this is the spy? Looks rather plain to me."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Well he wishes to keep his name a secret. So if you happen to see him passing by, be sure to thank him for his hard work and continued service."

[ Neptune ]  
"Well … with that, I think that's a good place to end this news broadcast. Well hope to see yall on the next nepisode of Nepstation."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Hope to see you all very soon."

With that, the Nepstation broadcast ended. There was a very awkward and painful silence. I became a victim of a ploy by the fake which made me appear to be an enemy to the other nations. She framed me and she framed me hard. The guards, Plutia, and I stood there in silence until Plutia of all people finally spoke up.

[ Plutia ]  
"Uuuuuummmmm, xxBigPhilxx, you're not reeeeeaaaaallllllyyyyyy a spy, are you?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"WHAT!? NO! I have been fra-!"

[ Gate Guard A ]  
"TRAITOR!"

With that I am greeted with the click of rifles being armed and ready to shoot. I quickly raised both of my hands to the guards.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Waitwaitwait! NOT AGAIN!"

[ Gate Guard B ]  
"I'm pretty sure no one would mind if we kill a betrayer like you on the spot."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wait! You can do this! Because the… uh uh uh uh … the … the real spy is STANDING RIGHT OVER THERE!"

I point to a random spot behind the gate guards. Of course they turn around to find … … nothing.

[ Plutia ]  
"…hmmm, I don't see him."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"RUUUUUUUN!"

At that moment, I grabbed the back of Plutia's shirt and made a mad dash for the tree line. I moved so fast that Plutia was off her feet and looked as though she was nothing more than a kite that I was running with. The gate guards finally realized the stunt I just pulled and tuned to open fire on the both of us. I made it far enough out that their shots missed us. I continued to run well out of view of Lastation.

I ran until my legs were about to snap off. I stood hunched over with my hands on my knees while wheezing to catch my breath. Plutia on the other hand looked perfectly fine.

[ Plutia ]  
"…Uuuuuummmm … I guess us saving the day just got a whole lot harder…"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"THAT FUCKING BITCH! IT WASN'T BAD ENOUGH SHE HAD TO PUT ME ON TOP OF THE HIT LIST OF PLANEPTUNE, BUT SHE HAD TO MAKE ME PUBLIC ENEMY NUMBER FUCKIN ONE FOR ALL OF GAMINDUSTRI! THIS IS BULLSHIT! THIS IS BULLSHIT! BULLSHIT BULLSHIT BULLSHIT!"

[ Plutia ]  
"Wow! You seem really mad."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"DO YOU NOT SEE THAT I HAVE CAPS LOCK ENGAGED?! GYYYYYAAAAAHHHHH!"

I howled as if it would help me achieve a new form that was much stronger than my current one. But much like the times I and countless others have tried it in the past, all I got was a shortness of breath and a massive headache. I dropped to my knees after having spent all of my energy.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
" *Pant pant* I just wanted to go on a nice adventure with a nice conclusion to put a shred of happiness in my normal crappy day-to-day life. … … Is that too much to ask for? Do I not deserve that?"

I was borderline sobbing at this point.

[ Plutia ]  
"Awwwe, there there."

She kneeled down next to me and hug me while caressing the back of my head.

[ Plutia ]  
"There there. It's ok to let out all your frustration here."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"...Plutia, although I know that deep down you are actually enjoying my misery, I am just to flabbergasted and exhausted to care at this point."

[ Plutia ]  
"Well if our first plan to let my friends know, then we will just have to think up a new plan."

She said this with a smile that was full of hope. Hope that I didn't have the energy to find.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Your blind optimism is refreshing, but I'm sorry to say that were we are now, it really doesn't do us that much good."

[ Plutia ]  
"I guess you're right. *Siiiiiiiiigh* If only there was some way to bring one of the other CPUs to us…"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]

"…"

"…"

"…!"

My eyes lit up as I realized that Plutia is a genius and doesn't know it when the situation calls for it.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…Plutia, … how high can you jump?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Huuuuuh? Jump?"

[ xxBigPhillxx ]  
"Yeah. How high can you hop up into the air and just let gravity take over?"

[ Plutia ]  
"I dunno. I guess I can find out."

With that we both rose to our feet. I took a few steps back to get Plutia plenty of space. At first she warms up with a few short hops all while saying "hop hop hop", then she sunk down her stance and with a spring of her legs, she launched into the air at almost at supersonic speed.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"WOAH!"

Plutia rocketed into the sky with a simple jump. She was almost out of my view when she reached the peak of her jump. Before she began her decent back to earth, she gave a light chuckle, spread her arms out to the sides, and kicked her feet straight out in front. Allowing her to fall pretty much butt first. I kept a shocked look on her as she began to plummet. She finally hit the ground butt first with the force of a small meteor, causing me to close my eyes and turn my head away to protect me from the dust and debris. When I knew everything was calm, I opened my eyes and began to move to where Plutia landed. She actually was a little dusty, but unharmed and with a carefree smile on her face as she sat in the small crater.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wow! Not gonna lie, that was impressive."

[ Plutia ]  
"heh heh heh. That was actually quite fun. And easy seeing as how I can just let gravity do all the work."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well I'm glad you had fun. But more importantly, are you OK?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Weeeeellllll, I'm fine since the landing was much softer than I expected."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeeeeeeaaaaahhhhhh… …. About that … … soft landing…"

[ Plutia ]  
"Hmm?"

Plutia looked at me with a confused look, but my attention was fixed under her. Where a huge mess of black, white, and blue cloth acted as her soft landing.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]

"…"

"…"

"…Sorry, Noire…"

-Chapter End-


	8. Chap 8: Too Tsun Way too Tsun

Chapter 8: "Too Tsun. Way Too Tsun."

It's been a crazy trip so far that seemed to only be going south more and more. If being exiled from Planeptune wasn't enough, the fake Nepgear saw fit to air a Gamindustri wide broadcast that labeled me a spy to the other nations. This got me exiled from the other nations as well. Luckily, Plutia and myself were able to get Noire out to meet us at our location by-…

[ Noire ]  
"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!"

Noire seemed to completely recovered physically with only her clothing slightly ruffled, but she was understandably confused.

[ Noire ]  
"One minute I was in my room at my Basilicom trying to figure out how to deal with Planeptune, the next thing I knew I ended up here."

[ Plutia ]  
"YAY! It's Noire! I was so worried about you!"

Plutia became estatic

[ Noire ]  
"Ah! Plutia? H-how did I get here? And why were you sitting on top of me?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Oh, heh heh. Sorry about that, but we really need to speak to you about something important. Luckily, he came up with the perfect way to have you come to us."

[ Noire ]  
"Wait, "he?"'

Plutia nodded and pointed in my direction. Noire and I made I contact for the first time. I gave her a small wave.

[ Noire ]  
"Who are-…"

"…"

"…Wait, I've seen that face before."

She squinted as if trying to remember where she saw my face. Then her eyes lit up in realization.

[ Noire ]  
"Y-YOU! You're that spy who is gathering secret information from the other nations and turning them over to Planeptune!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wa-Wait, there's a reasonable explanation for that!"

[ Noire ]  
"You can tell it to the judge, jury, and executioner!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uh uh o-ok! When do I get to speak to them?"

[ Noire ]  
"They're already here!"

She suddenly drew her rapier and pointed it at me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wait! That isn't really necessary!"

[ Plutia ]  
"Ummm, Noire?"

[ Noire ]  
"We-we'll talk later after I deal with this filth."

With that, she lunged at me with her rapier.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"W-Wait."

She tried to stab at my chest, but I side stepped to avoid it. She tried to follow up with a flurry of swipes to keep me off center. When she saw that I was beginning to stagger, she took her opportunity to try to land a lethal blow. This forced me to draw my tonfas and stop her blade. We were caught in a deadlock for a brief moment.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok seriously, all this violence isn't really nesecary!"

[ Noire ]  
"Like hell it is!"

She batted me away and continued her assault and I went on the defensive. Even though she is being the aggressor, I didn't want to cause any harm to her since we needed her cooperation with dealing with the fake Nepgear. Our bout went on for a few minutes and fatigue started to set in. We separated to catch our breath.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"*Pant pant* Alright, *Pant* this is gonna go one of two ways. *Pant* We can either continue fighting and knock each other around. In which you will most likely kill me,-"

[ Noire ]  
"*Pant pant.*"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Or you can take a chill pill and bear witness to my superior negotiation skills. Make your choice."

There was a slight pause from Noire as if she would stop to hear what I had to say, but my hopes were given up when she erupted in the flash of light that herald her HDD form.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"OH COME THE FUCK OFF IT!"

When the light settled, the form of Black Heart stood before me.

[ Black Heart ]  
"Hmph, I'm not giving you the time to try to and taint my ears with your lies. I'll finish you quickly!"

She lunged at me. At the last second, I raised my tonfas in front of me to block the blow. Though I deflected the blade, the impact sent me flying back and I tumbled into a bush.

[ Plutia ]  
"Umm, Noire?"

[ Black Heart ]  
"Seriously, Plutia. Don't tell me you were being strung along with this rat?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Um, actually, uuuuhhhhh."

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by a slicing sound from the bush. From the cloud of cut leaves jump me after activating my Shadow Suit DLC. I landed in front of Black Heart.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"As I said, my negotiation skills are a sight to behold."

Black Heart was slightly shocked at the sight of me in the DLC suit, then she gritted her teeth and lunged at me. This time I met her power for power with my dual plasma cutters. We traded blows and then I retreated into the air. Black Heart gave pursuit and clash with me in the air. She tried to lunge at me, but I parried with one of my cutters and left her open. I lined up a blow that would end her right there.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"HEY WAIT A MOMENT!"

I stopped my blade and backed off Black Heart.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(I'm trying to get Noire's help. The last thing I want to do is fight her.)

As I paused, Black Heart took the opportunity to drive a fist into my gut and stunned me. She followed up by grabbing my neck and diving to the ground and slammed my head into the ground. She dragged me through the dirt and then tried to thrust me with her sword. I stopped it with my cutters, but she lifted her sword up and sent me flying back. She then tried to hit me with an overhead slash, but I caught it with my cutters.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yo Plutia, can you give me a hand here?"

"..."

"…Plutia?"

I look over to Plutia who was fast asleep while leaning up against a tree.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"GOD DAMNIT PLUTIA!"

Again Black Heart took advantage and she knocked me back with a powerful slash. I crashed into a large boulder, but recovered quickly.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Damn, my suit hasn't been completely repaired from the last fight. And it doesn't look like Noire wants to let up."

"…"

"Guess there's just one thing I can do."

[ Black Heart ]  
"This ends now. Prepare yourself."

She lunged at me with a slash. Before she could come in striking range, I deactivated my Shadow Suit DLC and it retreated back to a pack on my back. I then took a knee, clap my hands together, and bowed before Black Heart.

[ Black Heart ]  
"What's this?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Lady Black Heart, I humbly request an audience with you."

She seemed taken aback by my plea.

[ Black Heart ]  
"You, you, you really think I will allow you to beg after all you put me through? Give me one good reason why I should listen to you."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…. Uh uuhh, … I'll follow you on Chirper!"

[ Black Heart ]  
"Wh-wh WHAT?!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I'll follow you on Chirper, like all your pics, and leave a LOL on all your post."

[ Black Heart ]  
"Y-y-you really think that I am that desperate for followers that I would show you mercy."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…You're right. You probably have thousands on thousands of friends that follow you. I would totally be insignificant in your large pool of friends."

[ Black Heart ]  
"Grrr! You. … YOU!"

She tensed up and grip her sword overhead. For a second, I thought she was gonna dismiss my offer and end me right there. However, she gave a heavy breath and erupted in a ball of light. When it settled, the human form of Noire stood over me. I gave a sigh of relief.

[ Noire ]  
"Look! Don't get the wrong idea. I-I don't give a damn whether you become one of the few … … many fans that I have. It just would reflect on me poorly if I maliciously execute someone without proper cause and without hearing out their defense."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Perfect! You are truly a benevolent leader that's worthy to be a CPU."

[ Noire ]  
"Hmph!"

She brushed off my little attempt of ass-kissing. I stood up and took a deep breath as I ready to take the first step at revealing the secret that I knew to the world. Soon, someone with a bit off pull in Gamindustri will know the truth that Plutia and myself knew. I was hyped.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok! *Ahem* It's like this."  
"The Nepgear that is current in Planeptune, and that made that declaration to take the Shares of all the other nations."  
"…Is…"  
"A FAKE!"

[ Noire ]

"…"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]

"…"

In hindsight, I was so excited about knowing the truth that I didn't put much thought into actually making my claim sound believable. Noire stood there for a few seconds while processing what I said. I thought she was just gonna take my word for it. However, …

[ Noire ]  
"…Really?"

She gave a cynical expression that said "You can pay e enough to believe you"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…Yeah?..."

She didn't say a thing for a second, then she gave a sigh.

[ Noire ]  
"*sigh* Alright, you said your piece. So…"

She drew her rapier again and pointed at me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"W-w-wait! If you think about it, th-th-there's no way the real Nepgear would ever take the Shares of the nations and cause a rift between them."

[ Noire ]  
"There's a lot of things I thought before. What I realized that the only people I can trust now are those who are loyal to Lastation. Anyone who threatens the security of my nation shall be punished without mercy. And that means you. So now I'm gonna finish this."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wait! Hold up!"

She readied to stab me, but she was stop by a sudden glomp from behind from Plutia. Noire barely was able to stand on her feet as she was taken by surprise from Plutia's sudden hug,

[ Plutia ]  
"Yay, Noire! I'm so happy to see you again. I missed you so much!"

[ Noire ]  
"AH! Plutia! Would you stop that! We met a while ago! So give me a second. We'll catch up later after I take care of this rat.

[ Plutia ]  
"Ohhh, that's right! Noire, meet xxBigPhilxx! I met him before I came here."

[ Noire ]  
"I could care less who he is. Have you heard some of the crap he's been spewing? He's been saying crazy stuff like how Nepgear is a fake. Don't tell me you actually believe a word he says."

[ Plutia ]  
"Um, I don't know. It would explain how Nepgear was able to beat me so easily when I tried to fight her."

[ Noire ]  
"Now just-…Wait what? Nepgear defeated you in a fight?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Yup, I couldn't lay a finger on her. And she didn't event break a sweat. But somehow, I was the one that ended up on her knees."

[ Noire ]  
"Bu-bu-but you were in your human form right?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Nooooo. I was in my HDD form, and she was in her human form. And she still beat me."

[ Noire ]  
"You mean to tell me Nepgear of all people was able to beat Sadie?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Yup!"

Noire eyes darted back and forth as if she was trying to review a math problem that is wrong.

[ Noire ]  
"But that's … … that's … That's impossible! There's no way Nepgear would ever stand up to Sadie! Let alone find the will power to fight her and win."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Unless she really wasn't the real Nepgear to begin with and was an imposter at the time."

Noire responded with my argument by pointing her rapier at my face

[ Noire ]  
"You stay out of this!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"WOULD YOU STOP THAT!"

Noire look to me that to Plutia. Her eyes went back and forth for a few seconds. Then Noire let out a sigh.

[ Noire ]  
"…Alright, maybe there has been something fishy about Nepgear recently. But still, it's quite a far cry to say she's an imposter. It may have been a fluke that she beat Iris Heart. I might be able to believe you two if you got some concrete evidence to back this claim."

I paused. She did have a point. My claim would have a whole lot more ground if I had evidence to back it up. I took a second to think, then an idea pop into my head.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wait! LAN Castle!"

[ Noire ]  
"Huh?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah. As I overheard her, she mentioned that she was trapped in LAN Castle and she somehow got Nepgear's appearance, power's, and memories when she went you all went in there to find that cursed blade. You didn't witness anything funny when you went there, did you?"

Noire thought about this for a second.

[ Noire ]  
"…Well, when we were searching for the blade, there was a point where we split up to help search the castle quickly."

"…"

"…And if something did happen to Nepgear when she was by herself, then none of us would have known about it."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"That's good! That's probably where she is being held right now. That would be evidence enough and we also rescue the real Nepgear in the process."

[ Noire ]  
"Like I said, I don't believe a word you say right now. If this turns out to be nothing more than a disillusioned goose chase, you're a dead man."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Heh … heh heh."

[ Plutia ]  
"Yay! Let's go on another trip, Noire."

[ Noire ]  
"*Sigh* Let's just get this over with."

At this, I gave a sigh of relief and we began to head to LAN Castle. I had high hopes that we could find out more to this mystery as to what happened to the real Nepgear and who is behind this imposter.

-Chapter End-

 _A heads up, the main protagonist may go through a name change. We'll see what twitter has to say._


	9. Chap 9: The Fate of Nepgear

-Author's Notes-

 _Do follow me on twitter to keep up with chaperts, partake in polls that may affect the story, and even view some future fan art. Twitter page is posted in Biography._

Chapter 9: The Fate of Nepgear

After a good trek, Plutia, Noire and myself finally made it to the front gate of LAN Castle. The resting place of the Malice Blade before it was found as well as the possible location of the real Nepgear. I had high hopes as some of my own questions in all of this would be answered.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Here we are! LAN Castle. Hopefully we can find something in here that will shed some light on what's going on."

[ Noire ]  
"You seem pretty optimistic despite you knowing what would happen to you if we don't find anything here."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Why wouldn't I be? If worst comes to worst, then I can die happy knowing that the last thing I did was go on a date with the two best CPUs in Gamindustri."

[ Noire ]  
"WH-WHAT!? How dare you say that I would go on a date with you! Even if you say I'm one of the best … the best … "

"…"

"Y-you really think I'm one of the best CPUs?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Awww, Noire is all flustered and blushing now."

[ Noire ]  
"Wha-! Don't get the wrong idea! Me and him on a date would be unheard of!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"She's right. I would have to be crazy to ask to go on a date with her."

[ Noire ]  
"See, I told y-… HEY! What's that supposed to mean?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"It means we arrived at our destination and we should start to find me evidence to prove my innocence and figure out what the hell is really going on."

I pushed on the front doors which opened with a creek. Clouds of dust swirled in the chambers and the ambient sounds of an old castle echoes through the hallways. The three of us stepped in.

[ Plutia ]  
"I-I would like to get this done quickly. This place still creeps me out."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"It does far worse than creep me out. I mean, this is a castle."

My head jerks to the side slightly.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"A castle that is also underground. Which is fine, but it also has windows. I mean- …"

My head jerks again and this time my eye also starts twitching.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Why does a castle, that's underground, NEED BLOODY WINDOWS?!"

My head jerks around and my eye goes into a twitch fest.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"What are we supposed to look at outside the windows? Dirt? IT … MAKES … NO … DAMN SENSE!"

{ Plutia }  
"Ummm, I think he's slightly agitated about something."

[ Noire ]  
"That much is obvious. Uh, xxBigPhilxx, are you ok?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I'M FINE!"

"…"

After my fit, I gather my senses and took note that they were there witnessing me. After a few seconds of awkward silence, I clear my throat.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok Noire, where to now?"

Noire shot me a huffy look. Quite obviously she doesn't take too kindly to being told what to do by others. Least of all a stranger whom she just met like me. However, her annoyance gave way to her curiosity. She scanned the area to try and retrace her footsteps when she was here with the other party members.

[ Noire ]  
"Well … Let's see. If I remember correctly, then we went down this way."

I let Noire take the lead and Plutia and myself followed. We traversed the interior of the castle until we came to a large open camber that had many stories and hallways that branched off into various directions.

[ Plutia ]  
"I remember this room! I went down that hall way and found-…"

"…"

"…"

"NOTHING!"

Me and Noire gave Plutia a look of confusion, then our attention was drawn to each other. I gave Noire an expecting look.

[ Noire ]  
"… … Ok."

She scanned the hallways and locked on to one of them.

[ Noire ]  
"This one! This is the hallway Nepgear went down by herself."

The three of us stood before the hall and looked down it into darkness. I'm not sure about the other two, but there was a definite chill going up my spine with the anticipation.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"… Whelp, we aren't going to know for sure until we step in."

At that, the three of us stepped down the hallway. There was an eerie feeling as we walked down the dark and empty hallway. Soon we came to a large door that looked to lead into a chamber. I stood before it.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well, here goes nothing."

At that, I opened the door. What laid inside appeared to be some sort of wide and open study. It had a shelf against a wall with rows and rows of books. In the center of the room was a desk and to the side of the room was a chest. I continued my scan around the room, but found nothing else of interest. Least of all anything that looked like a prison or anything that could contain a CPU.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uh, well. Let's see. There HAS to be something here."

I began to search the room. I went to all corners first, then I proceeded to dismantle the book shelf. Then I began to raid the draws of the desk in the center of the chamber where I found nothing but useless documents that were too worn to read. I looked over to Noire who looked to be growing impatient. Finally, I tuned to my attention to the chest, taking note that it's the size that could hold a body. I quickly opened it and found nothing inside.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Im-Im-impossible! There has to be something here. This can't be a dead end to all of this."

I looked to Noire with a dejected look who in return gave me a very pissed off look."

[ Noire ]  
"…So in other words, you don't any concrete evidence to support you claim?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wait, you see … if you just let me … "

"…"

"…"

"…No … "

She pause, shook her head and let out a sigh.

[ Noire ]  
"I see. *Sigh* Well I am a CPU of my word. So … "

At that, she once again drew her rapier and pointed it at me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"REALLY!? ARE YOU FRIGGIN KIDDING ME?! I thought we were having some quality bonding this whole trip."

[ Noire ]  
"YOU WISH! You hijacked me from Lastation, dragged me on a wild goose chase, and we came up with nothing. Trust me, I'm gonna bury the memories of our short time together along with you dead body."

[ Plutia ]  
"Um, Noire?"

[ Noire ]  
"Plutia, go find a corner, and take a nap."

[ Plutia ]  
"Oooook…"

[ Noire ]  
"Now, to end this."

She began to advance towards me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Now hold on hold on!"

She slashed at me and I stumble back. My legs got caught on the chest and I fell over it and Noire sliced it in half in from of me. She readied another strike. But before she could bring it down, I felt that my hand landed on something round, slightly flat and hard in my hand. Out of reflex, I held the object in front of me in hopes that it would shield me. As I held it up, I heard a click and I felt the object's weight shift as if it opened up. And then…

[ Girls voice ]  
"WAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

A loud scream rang out through the room and all three of us were startled by it. Reflexively, I grabbed the object with both hands and I felt it close like a clam.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…Wait. Was … … was that Nepgear?!"

For the first time, I decided to take a good look at what I was actually holding. It was a round, brass looking object. On a top of it, was what appeared to be a button. I pressed it and the front of the object opened up. What it looked to be was a hand held mirror, but instead of seeing my reflection, there was the image of Nepgear who was sobbing from inside.

[ Nepgear ]  
"WAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"What the hell? Nepgear?! Is that you?"

[ Nepgear ]  
"Wh-wha? You are you?"

[ Noire ]  
"It can't be."

Noire moved behind me and looked over my shoulder to get a good look at the mirror that appeared to hold Nepgear.

[ Noire ]  
"Nepgear? Is that really you?"

[ Nepgear ]  
"Noire?!"

Nepgear looked at Noire from within the small mirror almost speechless. Then she tried to smash through the glass separating us in vein.

[ Nepgear ]  
"NOIRE! You Got to help me! I'm trapped in here and I can't get out!"

Plutia came to look over my other shoulder.

[ Plutia ]  
"Wooooow! Is that the real Neppy Jr.? She looks sooo pocket size right now!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah. She appears to be stuck in this mirror. The mirror that was behind the chest."

"…"

"Why the hell was it BEHIND the chest? Treasure isn't suppose to be behind a chest!"

[ Noire ]  
"But how? How did you end up in there?"

[ Nepgear ]  
"I don't know! I was looking around in this room. And I found this mirror in the chest. When I looked into it, I didn't see my reflection. Instead, I saw nothing but darkness. And then … and then I saw some glowing eyes and I heard a woman's voice. She asked who I was and I told her that I was looking for a cursed blade in this castle. So I asked this voice inside the mirror if she knew anything about the blade. Before she answered, she asked if I was a CPU so I said that I was. She didn't say anything at first, then she said something in some weird language. Then there was a flash of bright light and I felt like I was being sucked down into an abyss. When I could see again, I was in this infinite darkness with this one porthole to see out of. On the other side, I saw what looked like me … … but it was me with a cold stare. She was looking over herself than then look backed at me. She said my name and who I was and said that she would use my image to bring ruin to Gamindustri and build a new world once she destroys it. Then she closed me off to the outside and l was … was … left alone in this darkness. Thankfully, you all came for me! I was so scared and alone!"

She was about to break down.

[ Noire ]  
"This is insane! Nepgear, do you have any idea who ever that thing is that took your image has done?!"

[ Nepgear ]  
"Wha-what?!"

[ Noire ]  
"She declared that all the other nations give Planeptune their Shares. She has effectively taken over Planeptune, and managed to break the trust between the other nations. They're at each other's throat and total war could break out at any moment."

[ Nepgear ]  
"WHAT?! "

She tried in vain again to smash her way out of the small mirror.

[ Nepgear ]  
"Noire! That wasn't me! I would never take the Shares of the other nations for myself!"

Noire was silent for a few seconds.

[ Noire ]  
"I figured that. Which is why I'm glad I gave these two the benefit of a doubt."

[ Nepgear ]  
"We-we have to tell the others before she gets to them!"

[ Noire ]  
"Agreed. It would have been easier if you were in some holding cell or something, but with you being stuck in that mirror…."

[ Plutia ]  
"Yeah, Nepgear is quite vulnerable being stuck in that tiny mirror."

[ Noire ]  
"True, we need to focus on protecting Nepgear until we can figure out how to get here out of there."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…Noire?"

[ Noire ]  
"What?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Does this mean…?"

[ Noire ]  
"... I am not going to say it."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"After how you tried to kill me numerous time? You gotta say it at this point now."

[ Noire ]  
"… *sigh* … FINE! You were ri-!"

Before she could get the word out, her cell phone rings.

[ Noire ]  
"Huh?"

"…"

"It's Uni!"

Without hesitation she put the phone on speaker so all four of us can hear her.

[ Uni ]  
"Noire! Are you there?"

[ Noire ]  
"Yes I'm here, Uni."

[ Uni ]  
"What happened? Where did you go."

[ Noire ]  
"I had to … … take care of something."

She says this as she shot the three of us a quick glance.

[ Noire ]  
"What's going on?"

[ Uni ]  
"It's Planeptune! Neptune and Nepgear have come to take the nations Shares. They already began ransacking Lastation."

[ Noire ]  
"What? Already? How can they-…"

She stopped and then looked back to the 3 of us.

[ Noire ]  
"Uni. I'll be there as soon as possible! Don't engage them or do anything stupid until I get there."

[ Uni ]  
"Um, ok. I'll just try and stay out of sight."

[ Noire ]  
"Ok. I'm on my way. Hold tight!"

She hung up and look towards to the rest of us.

[ Noire ]  
"I-I have to get back to Lastation!"

She began to run to the exit.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wait a second Noire! Here Plutia, hold on to Nepgear."

I passed the Mirror that held Nepgear to Plutia.

[ Plutia ]  
"Ok. I'll keep Nepgear … safe … and … soooouuuuuunnnnnd …"

Nepgear had a look of worry at Plutia's declaration.

[ Nepgear ]  
"Um, um um…"

Noire made it to the exit. The moment she stepped outside, she activated her HDD form. I came up behind her just before he took off.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wait hold up and just think for a second."

[ Black Heart ]  
"There's no time! I can't let Lastation fall! I must protect it no matter the cost"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"NOIRE, LISTEN!"

I grab her shoulder hard and forcefully turn her to face me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I know you would give everything for the good of both Lastation and Gameindustri. That's cool. I respect that. But that isn't Nepgear that's there now. It's someone who wants you to do just that. To throw away your life as well as Uni's to fuel the power of that cursed blade and then use it to overthrow the other nations and bring chaos to all of Gamindustri for her own gain. If you or Uni falls there, your deaths will be in vain."

Noire's face lit up as she took everything that I said to heart. She then gave a heavy breath ad turned away. Hoping that my point was made clear, I willingly let go of her shoulder. She soon took flight and headed in the direction of Lastation. I gave a heavy sigh as I wished for her not to do anything brash when she got there. Soon enough, Plutia came up behind me while holding the mirror that held Nepgear in her hand.

[ Plutia ]  
"Awwww, did we just miss her?"

[ Nepgear ]  
"What happened? Is Noire going to face whoever that fake is"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I don't know. I gave her a stern reality check before she flew away. Hopefully, it was enough to keep her head when she gets there."

[ Plutia ]  
"Whelp, we should fly after her and make sure nothing bad happens. I'll just go HDD and we can get there much faster."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Good Id-"

[ Nepgear ]  
"UM! Ummmm…"

I saw that Nepgear was really hesitant within the mirror.

[ Nepgear ]  
"C-c-can we try to get there without Sadie … I MEAN … Plutia having to use her HDD form."

Plutia gave a dejected look, then she looked at me knowing there was only one other way that we could get to Lastation in a timely mannor.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…*sigh* … Fine."

With that, I reached around to my Shadow Suit DLC pack and flipped the switch. The Shadow suit then began to wrap around me and incase me within. I stood behind Plutia who in turn held on to the Mirror that imprisoned Nepgear.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Just know that this suit wasn't designed for travel nor transportation."

[ Plutia ]  
"Yay, ready to go on a ride Neppy Jr."

[ Nepgear ]  
"Um ok."

I grab hold of Plutia from behind and activated the plasma thrusters on the bottom of my boots and I took off as gently as possible but making sure I had the speed to get there in a timely mannor.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(Please, keep your head Noire.)

I thought to myself as I carried the two in the direction of Lastation, hoping that everything will workout without bloodshed.

-Chapter End-


	10. Chap 10: Changing Fate

-Disclaimer-

 _The following is a non-profit fanfic. Hyperdimention Neptunia is owned by JP Sega, Compile Heart. and Idea Factory. Please support the official release. Also all references and inside jokes from Noble of Lost Pause are owned by their respected owner. Please support this beautiful bastard or else Lily will hunt you down and flay your asses._

Chapter 10: "Changing Fate"

Using her HDD form, Noire flew towards Lastation as fast as she could. She tried to remain focused on the matter at hand being that Planeptune has invaded Lastation to seize its shares, but she couldn't get the thought of what she just discovered in LAN Castle out of her head.

[ Black Heart ]  
(Could it all be true? The Nepgear that's there in Lastation now. Is it really a villain wearing Nepgear's face in order to beat us for some sinister gain?)

She thought of the Nepgear she knew vs the Nepgear who returned from LAN Castle after finding the cursed blade with her.

[ Black Heart ]  
(I thought Nepgear was a bit off in suggesting that Planeptune takes the other nations Shares.)

(…)

(Maybe it's true. Maybe that isn't the real Nepgear. It would be a very reasonable explanation to Nepgear's slight change in actions. She seemed to be the same Nepgear in personality, but her motives…)

The realism of Nepgear seemed to get through to her. With that in mind, she thought of what could be done if she saw the intentions of this fake Nepgear with her own eyes.

[ Black Heart ]  
(If it's true what could be done? Could I stop her there?)

(…)

(If I could reveal it to Uni and Neptune if she isn't in on it. Yes. The three of us could-…)

Before she could finish her thought, she felt a sudden shift from within her. Almost as if a great deal of her strength was dumped out of her body

[ Black Heart ]  
"Wha-what?"

A feeling like nausea began to overtake her. Her speed and her altitude began to drop while she was flying. The mere act of flying began to put strain on her. There could only be one explanation for that.

[ Black Heart ]  
( … Oh no! It's the Share's!)

Noire Knew that with Planeptune taking the Shares, her power would plummet and their power would grow. At this rate, they would be a great deal more powerful than her when she gets there.

[ Black Heart ]  
( I, I have to get back as soon as possible before I lose any more power.)

With that, she flew in the direction of Lastation with what remained of her strength

* * *

As Noire was heading to Lastation, the fake Nepgear, Neptune, IF and Compa continued to take the Shares of Lastation.

[ IF ]  
"Well, here are the Shares from this area."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Wow! I, I can feel my power growing as we speak!"

[ Neptune ]  
"Yeah, that's what ransacking the Shares of another nation would do to you. But we are still a far cry to being able to beat the Deity of Sin. We should finish up here before we trigger Noire."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"R-right! We should go to the last area."

Neptune, Compa, and IF walked ahead leaving the fake to think to herself.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
(Hmm. I must admit, I underestimated how much my power would increase as a CPU with Shares alone. But hopefully…)

She grasped the hilt of Malice Blade which was sheathed on her waist.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
(…there will be another way I can boost my power. But for now, I'll bide my time. I can't do anything drastic now. Especially with … "her" trailing us.)

She hurried ahead to catch up with her party. When she was out of the area, the person the fake spoke of came out of hiding.

[ Uni ]  
"Oh no. They really are taking all of the Shares. What can I do? Nepgear, did you really have to take it this far."

"…"

"I don't know what to do. … … I wish my sister was here."

[ Black Heart ]  
"UNI!"

Uni looked to the sky at the source of the cry where she saw her sister in her HDD form. She came in for a landing, but it wasn't the graceful landing she usually does. She stumbled as she almost dropped out of the sky. She staggered when she touched down and had to brace herself on a building. She immediately reverted back to her human form.

[ Uni ]  
"Noire! Where have you-…?"

She took a good look at Noire. Sweat was pouring from Noire's forehead and she was struggling to catch her breath.

[ Uni ]  
"N-Noire?"

[ Noire ]  
"*Pant pant* I'm fine! *Pant pant* Where are they?"

[ Uni ]  
"They… they … they are on the next block over, but…are sure you can-…"

[ Noire ]  
"I said I'm fine. *Sigh* Ok let's go."

[ Uni ]  
"R-right."

They proceeded to the next block over where the invading party were gathering up the last of Lastation Shares.

[ Compa ]  
"If we take any more Shares, Lastations will…"

[ Noire ]  
"If you are really worried about that, then perhaps you should stop."

The four turned to Noire and Uni who stepped out before them.

[ Neptune ]  
"Noire! Uni!"

[ Uni ]  
"Those are Lastation's Shares. Give them back!"

[ IF ]  
"I hate to ask, but what if we refuse?"

[ Uni ]  
"We are the ones who will be asking the questions."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Uni, don't you understand that this is for the good of Gamindustri?"

[ Uni ]  
"And what of Lastation? You think we would just condemn our nation?"

[ Neptune ]  
"C'mon, Noire, you know we got no beef with you. So…?"

Neptune noticed that Noire wasn't giving her any attention. It seemed Noire's focus was fixed solely on Nepgear.

[ Neptune ]

"N-Noire? Nep to Noire!"

[ Noire ]  
"Huh?"

"…"

"Neptune, you really can't be OK with all this, can you?"

[ Neptune ]  
"Of course not. But … it's as my lil imouto says. I gotta put the whole world before my opinions."

[ Noire ]  
"…"

( Neptune … She like her carefree self now, but I can tell she doesn't want to fight. Could it be she's innocent and doesn't know what's going on?)

"…Regardless of my personal feelings, I am a CPU of Lastation before all else. I will not let my nation fall."

[ Uni ]  
"As the CPU candidate of Lastation, it's my duty to fight for my nation. Even to my dying breath."

At that, Uni activated her HDD form.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Uni. … If that is your will, then for the preservation of Gamindustri, I must fight you with all my might. Even if you were a friend."

Nepgear activated her HDD form

[ Noire ]  
( No hesitation in challenging Uni, her friend, to a duel that could claim one of their lives…)

[ Neptune ]  
"Well, we better follow the examples of our sisters huh?"

Neptune activates her HDD form.

[ Noire ]  
"Huh? … yeah …. R-right."

Noire activates her HHD form.

* * *

I flew as fast as the suit would allow me. I couldn't go full speed since I was carrying Plutia who in turn was holding the small mirror that contained the real Nepgear.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Don't run out of juice don't run out of juice DON't RUN OUT OF JUICE!"

I felt the boosters at the bottom of my boots begin to lose thrust. I started a rapid decent to the ground. The best I could do was head to the peak of a hill that was outside the border of Lastation I used what power I had left to ensure that I was able to place Plutia and Nepgear safely on the ground. The moment I touched down, the Shadow Suit deactivated and retreated to the pack form on my back.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well, that's me out of commission for this fight."

[ Nepgear ]  
"What? We got to get down there and stop that fake from hurting our friends."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"You aren't going anywhere near that fake. Who knows what she would do if her secret got out. There's no way you would be able to defend yourself if she singled you out."

[ Plutia ]  
"But, what can we do?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…All we can do is have faith that Noire will be rational down there and not do anything drastic."

"…"

"I know, I had more confidence in that statement when I said it in my head."

[ Plutia ]  
"Well, I for one have absolute faaaaaiiiiithe that Noire will not do aaaaaaannnnnnyyyyything reckless."

[ Nepgear ]  
"I-I hope so. I don't know what I'd do if someone kills any of my friends while wearing my face."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well, it's all up to Noire now."

I turn to a tall tree.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok, I'll climb this tree and hopefully I can see what's going on. Plutia, you stay down here and make sure nothing happens to Nepgear."

[ Plutia ]  
"Ooooookkkkkkk…"

I proceeded to climb to the highest point of the tree.

[ Nepgear ]  
"oh, how did things come to this?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Well, I for one am happy that the person who beat me wasn't really you and just only looked you. It makes me feel better just imagining all the stuff I am going to do her when I get my hands on her. It almost looks like she is in the very palm of my hands though. Heh … heh heh …hehehehe."

A sinister grin forms on her face.

[ Nepgear ]  
"Um, uh Plutia?!"

Against my better judgement, I left Nepgear alone at the bottom of the tree with Plutia while I climbed to the highest branch. I reached into my shirt and pulled out a set of binoculars and focused on the city of Lastation. I could just make out the figures of the CPUs doing battle in their HDD forms.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Please don't do anything brash, Noire."

* * *

The CPUs and the CPU Candidates did battle. Noire faced off with Neptune and Uni with Nepgear. Noire put up a valiant effort, but she was soon at a disadvantage. Not only was her power falling fast due to her losing her Shares, but she couldn't help but take quick glances at the candidates fighting. Uni obviously gave Nepgear everything she got, but Nepgear was easily keeping her at bay. It wasn't just a difference in power, but Nepgear was easily one step ahead of Nepgear and was able to dodge the shots of her cannons. She was way more calculating, bold, and precise with her fighting than Noire ever knew her to be.

[ Purple Heart ]  
"What's wrong. Are you not taking me seriously?"

[ Black Heart ]  
"No! I just find it hard to believe that you are willing to send your fellow CPUs and their nations into ruins so casually."

[ Purple Heart ]  
"That's not it! It's as Nepgear says. This is bigger than of us. If I don't do this, then the Deity of Sin will destroy everything!"

[ Black Heart ]  
(Does she know? Is Neptune really in on this? What if she isn't a part of this? Perhaps this is my chance to tell her.)

[ Black Heart ]  
"Listen … Neptune … … there's something that … "

[ Uni ]  
"EEK!"

Uni cried out as Nepgear managed to blitz her in between shots. She sent her crashing to the ground. Uni tried to rise to her feet, but ended up passing out and reverting back to her human form. Nepgear landed beside her and reverted back to her human form as well. She paused for a moment, then she began to advance on the knocked out Uni while grasping the Malic Blade at her hip.

[ Black Heart ]  
"UNI!"

Neptune decided to capitalize on the distracted Noire and blind-sided her with a flurry of slashes. Sure enough, whatever strength she had left her as she fell back to earth. She landed a few feet away from Uni, causing Nepgear to stop in her tracks. Noire lost strength and transformed back into her human form

[ Purple Heart ]  
"It is over."

Seeing as the attention was back on her, the fake Nepgear slowly removed her hand from the Malice Blade. Neptune powered down to her human from, and the fake did the same. Uni and Noire both came to their senses moments later.

[ Neptune ]  
"Yay! We won fair and square! Sooooo, can we keep the Shares?"

[ Noire ]  
"…"

[ Uni ]  
"Don't get the wrong idea. The only reason you won was because you have Lastation's Shares. As a Candidate of Lastation, I must give it my all to get them back."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Uni, will you really not yield?"

[ Uni ]  
"… Me and Noire would rather fight to our dying breath then let you just walk away with our Shares."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"I see. Then for the good of all of Gamindustri, then I must meet your challenge."

She one again grasp the Malice Blade at her waist. Noire focused on Nepgear's reaction to all of this. There was absolutely no hesitation to ending the life of Uni, her dearest friend. Something that the real Nepgear would never do without any second thoughts. There was no longer any doubt in Noire's mind. Though she replicated the appearance, personality, and abilities of the real Nepgear to the smallest detail, her ultimate motives are what sets her apart from the real Nepgear. She probably wouldn't have suspected anything out of the ordinary if it wasn't for the secrets she found out prior to this fight. But the question now that came to Noire's mind was "what can I do now?" She knew the fake was a great deal stronger and more skilled than any of the other CPUs present. There was only one thing she could think of that could possibly ensure that all her friends would all walk away today.

[ Noire ]  
"ENOUGH!"

All present jumped as Noire shouted to get everyone's attention.

[ Noire ]  
"…Uni, stand down!"

Noire took a deep breath as if what she was going to say next was the ultimate form of taboo.

[ Noire ]  
"…"

"…"

"The Shares of Lastations are not worth our lives."

[ Everyone else present]  
"WHA-WHAT?!"

Neptune, Compa, IF, Uni, and the fake were all shocked speechless at what Noire said.

[ Uni ]  
"Noire! What are you saying?"

Neptune, jumped in with an ecstatic expression.

[ Neptune ]  
"YES YES! That's right! It's cool if we just take the Shares for now! I mean it's not like we are gonna keep them. Once we defeat the Deity of Sin, we will return all the Shares to the other nations. And once we do, I'll treat you to a date and I will buy you all the pudding you could eat and call you my best friend all day! … but, yeah. It would be just for that one day. You got an image to maintain after all."

A relieved expression formed on the faces of the rest of the invading party, but there was one person who still had a shocked expression on her face.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Yo-you really going to let us walk away with all of the Shares?"

[ Noire ]  
"…"

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"I see. Well … I guess … I gurss."

There was a pause as she tries to think of what to say, but then a casual innocent smile formed on her face.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"I guess I can be happy that you are putting yourself before the wellbeing of your nation this time."

[ Uni ]  
"Noire!"

[ Noire ]  
"I said … STAND DOWN!"

Noire what that was. It was a last attempt to bait Noire in to attacking her and she would appear to kill her is self-defense. Though it left a foul taste in her mouth, Noire knew that her best option right now is to surrender the Shares quietly so everyone could walk away from this confrontation.

[ Noire ]  
"Just know, that continuing down this path will come with dire consequences."

She shot the fake Nepgear a threatening stare. First she seemed confused, then she saw her eyes narrowed slightly into a cold and menacing stare for a fraction of a second that only Noire mamaged to pick up on.

[ Neptune ]  
"Well, let's go Junior. We have to try to get the Shares from the other nations so we can defeat the Deity of Sin as soon as possible."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Wha-? Um … you're right. We need to move on to the other nations."

[ IF ]  
"All's well that ends well."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Yeah, let us take our leave."

[ Neptune ]  
"Noire, I'll see you again and I'll try my best to make up for all this."

[ Noire ]  
"…"

At that, the party of Planeptune turned on their heels and headed to the borders of Lastation. The fake trailed a little and when she knew no one was focused on her, she took a moment to think to herself.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
(Damn! I was sure they would fight to the death for their Shares. This will set me back a little if I can't feed the other CPUs to the Malice Blade.)

(…)

(…)

(Perhaps I should check if any of my old connections are still active.)

Noire and Uni watch as the other party left their city. The moment they were out of sight, Uni stomped up to Noire in almost a fit of rage.

[ Uni ]  
"Noire! What was that?! How could you just let them take our Shares away without a fight?!"

[ Noire ]  
"…"

[ Uni ]  
"Is what she said true? Are you really not willing to defend your nation to your dying breath? You're not the CPU I looked up to my whole li-!"

Before Uni could finish her hysterical rant, Noire stepped in front of her, forcefully placed both her hands on Uni's shoulders, and looked her dead in the eyes. Uni immediately went quiet with a shocked look in her face.

[ Noire ]  
"…Uni, I need you to listen to me very carefully"

[ Uni ]  
"N-Noire?"

[ Noire ]  
"I need you to take whatever Shares are left and put them into the military defense of the Nation. You and Kei need to keep the Nation standing and keep its military power intact for as long as possible."

[ Uni ]  
"Noire?"

[ Noire ]  
"I.. … I need to take care of something. I can't say what it is, but I need to leave for a while."

[ Uni ]  
"B-but…"

[ Noire ]  
"Uni, I need you to step up and make sure Lastation doesn't fall."

[ Uni ]  
"Noire…."

"…"

"…"

"…Ok, I'll look after Lastation while your away."

[ Noire ]  
"…Thank you Uni. I knew I could depend on you."

After a long pause, Noire released Uni from her grasp. She turned and was about to leave Lastation.

[ Noire ]  
"I swear, I will return as soon as possible."

With those final words, Noire began to jog to the outside of the city. Thus leaving Lastation in the care of Uni and Kei once again.

* * *

I saw the whole thing transpire through my binoculars. Although I couldn't hear what happened down there, the sight of everyone ok was a relief.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oh, thank goodness."

I looked away to wipe the sweat from my brow. When I looked again I saw what looked to be a silhouette of a person that looked to be a little too close to the action to be just some random bystander. Before I could focus on her well enough to actually identify the figure, she was already out of sight.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Huh? Hmmm."

I paid no mind to it at the time and I put my binoculars away into my shirt and began to climb back down the tree where I found Plutia talking to Nepgear in the small mirror with a sadistic smile on her face.

[ Plutia ]  
"…and scratch your face up, and gouge our your eyes, and strangle you with a rope made from the hair I'd rip of your scalp."

[ Nepgear ]  
"EEEKKK! I-I know you just want to do all that to someone who only looks like me, but it's still scary to hear it."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"At ease, Plutia."

[ Plutia ]  
"Oh. Hi xxBigPhilxx!"

[ Nepgear ]  
"Wha-what happened?! Is everyone alright? Is Uni ok?"

I gave Nepgear a nod.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Don't worry. Everyone's fine."

"…"

"…Including that fake that's causing all this."

A disappointed expression grew in their faces.

[ Plutia ]  
"Well as long as our friends are ok, I call this a good day."

[ Nepgear ]  
"I guess so, but what do we do now?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well …. I guess the best thing to do now is…"

Before I could finish, the sound of footsteps approaved us. I went on guard and expected an enemy. But who we found wasn't anyone from Planeptune, it was Noire.

[ Noire ]  
"…"

"…you were right. I had to see it with my own eyes. That wasn't the real Nepgear, but truly someone else who wanted to kill me and Uni with the Malice Blade. I may of fell for it and sacrificed myself and Uni for nothing if I didn't have any prior knowledge. But now I know."

[ Plutia ]  
"Yay! But, did you tell the others who were down there about the fake?"

Noire shook her head with a regretful look in her eyes.

[ Noire ]  
"I…I couldn't do it. She was a great deal more powerful than any of us. I was afraid that if I backed her into a corner like that, then she would have lashed out and killed us all there. I had no choice but to surrender the Shares to her."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I suppose that was the smartest thing you could of done. She must still try to keep the world convinced that she is the true Nepgear. Which means she can just go around killing the other CPUs at her leisure. Best let her believe that her secret is still strong and thus have that restriction on her."

She gave a faint smile of relief at my statement, then her face went concerned.

[ Noire ]  
"However, that still doesn't help the fact that I have to give them a good amount of Lastation shares. If my math is right, my nation's economy will collapse and my nation will fall to ruin within a few weeks. Whatever we are going to do, we need to do it now or Lastation is doomed."

[ Plutia ]  
"Weeeeellllll…..what do we do now?"

At Plutia's question, all three of them turned to me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uh, I guess the best thing you could do is go to the other nations and tell them the truth before the fake gets to them."

[ Noire ]  
"Huh? You're not coming with us?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Sorry, but I am not much of a team player when the shit hits the fan. But don't worry. I'll dedicate myself to trying to stop this on my own accord. Besides, you can manage to do what you gotta do if I was out of the picture, right?"

There was a pause. From the three of them.

[ Plutia ]  
"Actually, me and Noire are pretty weak and Nepgear is in no position to defend herself. I think the only thing that could protect us now is that fancy suit of yours."

[ Noire ]  
"…She does have a point. I saw firsthand that it's pretty effective. It's the best chance we have to defending ourselves."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Grrr…"

I grumbled as I didn't like to be part of a team in a situation like this. But at that moment, a thought popped into my head. Noble and Lily. I haven't heard from them since my confrontation with that fake. Last I heard, they were in Lowee. I couldn't help but worry about them and making sure they were in one piece with everything that's been going on.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…Alright, how about this. Let's head to Lowee next."

[ Noire ]  
"Lowee?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah. I got some fellow members of the syndicate I belong to and I would like to make sure they are ok. I can take you that far at least and help you in letting Blanc know as to what's going on. I'll even find you some muscle to help you on the way there. Once it's all said and done, you can go from there."

[ Noire ]  
"…Ok… Sounds like a plan."

[ Plutia ]  
"Yay! Let's go see Blanny!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Plutia, do your best to protect Nepgear. And, … … try not to do anything weird to her ok?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Ooookkkkkk. I'll tryyyyyyyyy."

[ Nepgear ]  
"Um umm."

With that, we gave each other a nod and began the long trek to Lowee. I had high hopes that not only Noble and Lily are fine, but the rest of Gamindustri will be as well.

-Chapter End-

 _I might be taking a prolonged break from writing for the time being. I would like to focus on doing fan art for this fanfic. Hopefully, the next chapter will be complete in a timely manner._


	11. Chap 11: A Familiar Face

_-Author's Notes-_

 _I know it took a long time to upload this chapter. I wanted to work on some fanart on the side alongside this Fanfic and post some before this chapter, but the Paint Program I was using is being a little Tsun with me. Hopefully I can get some up soon soon._

 _-Disclaimer-_

 _The following is a non-profit fanfic. Hyperdimention Neptunia is owned by JP Sega, Compile Heart. and Idea Factory. Please support the official release. Also Noble MaiBigButt, Lily, and all references and inside jokes from Noble of Lost Pause are owned by their respected owner. Please support this beautiful bastard or else Lily will hunt you down and flay your asses._

-Chapter 11: "A Familiar Face."

And so, the four of us made our way to Lowee on foot. We made sure we battled every monster we came across for the EXP while making good time. With a CPU whose nation lost its Shares, Another CPU who was exiled from her nation, and a CPU candidate who is trapped inside some sort of small magic mirror, my Shadow Suit is currently the only thing that could fight back if we are attacked. But even then, it is still slightly damaged and is not at full capacity until it gets repaired. On top of that, the fake Nepgear is quite a deal stronger due to her taking the Shares of Lastation. I doubt we could take her on ourselves anytime soon.

[ Plutia ]  
"I dunnooooooo. I rather like Neppy Jr. like this. It's like my very own pocket Neppy Jr. Heh heh heh."

[ Nepgear ]  
"Ah, please. I rather not. Being in here is so cold and lonely."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Don't worry. The moment we know how to get you out of there, we are gonna … get you … out of there … somehow. So enjoy this while it lasts, Plutia."

[ Plutia ]  
"Awwww…"

[ Nepgear ]  
"Oh, this is so embarrassing. One moment, I am gathering the other CPU Candidates, employing makers, rescuing our sisters and saving the world. And the next moment, I am stuck in here where all I can do is give information and cheer everyone on."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well look on the bright side. In your case, things can't possible get any wor-"

*Nepgear has mastered the "Plot Devise" ability.*

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oh dear…"

[ Nepgear ]  
"What was that?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"N-Nothing!...(This is bad. things are so fucked up, running gags at should be happening in in the next game are happening now.)"

I thought to myself for a second, then Noire decided to break the silence.

[ Noire ]  
"Ok, let me see I got this straight. You come from another dimension as a member of this "Vapor Syndicate" as it is called, right?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"That would be correct."

[ Noire ]  
"Right. And this other member of the syndicate, this Noble person, he has a DLC Suit like you?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yup, he was given the twin to this suit."

[ Noire ]  
"Oh, so they're exactly the same?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uh … the … typical anime moe trope twin."

[ Noire ]  
"…so they are complete opposites?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Pretty much. Where I was given this Shadow Suit DLC, he was given the Light Suit DLC. My suit makes me more agile and quick, his is stronger and more durable. In short, I'm the rouge, he's the paladin."

[ Noire ]  
"Um, ok. And you are sure he'll be able to help us?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Of course! I'm confident that when the chips are down, he will rise up to overcome any issue."

[ Noire ]  
"Really?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah, he is a man that can keep his cool and maintain his focus in some tense situations."

"…"

"…"

"Well the only thing that could possibly cause him to lose that kind of focus is boobs. Luckily he went to Lowee, so…"

Before I could finish, I felt a chill go up my spine. This feeling is the tell-tale sign of something in particular that's about to happen. I gave a sigh at the realization of this feeling. At that, I reached into my button up shirt, pulled out an umbrella, and opened it up. I then handed it to Noire, had her hold it overhead, and took a few steps back from her.

[ Noire ]  
"Wha-what? Why are you giving me this?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I'm sorry, but my R.I.P. Noire senses are tingling."

[ Noire ]  
"HUH?! What do you mean? I feel perfectly fine! I never heard of such senses either. And above all, you still haven't told me what any of that has to do with you giving me this umbre-!"

Before she could finish, she was interrupted by loud boom. We were then hit with a shockwave that kicked dust and debris in the face of Plutia and myself causing us to cover them. When everything settled, I gave a sigh, and approached ground zero of the impact. There was a slight pause, then from out the swirling cloud of dust popped a familiar face.

[ Lily ]  
" XXBIGPHIIIIIIIILLLLXX!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"AH! Wha? Lily! Is that you?"

[ Lily ]  
"Oh thank god! I was hoping that I'd find you!"

I didn't pay attention to her for a brief second as I scanned the sky.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Where the devil did you even fall from?"

Lily quickly hops to her feet.

[ Lily ]  
"That doesn't matter. Have you heard from Chief?!"

She waited anxiously for my answers with hopeful, puppy-dog eyes.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"What? I thought you were with him in Lowee. You mean to tell me you don't know where he is either?"

[ Lily ]  
"No! The last thing he told me was that he was worried about the safety of Blanc and her sisters because of what you said happened. So he figured he'd enlist into the security of Lowee to help protect it. He left me in the city to go speak with one of the guards. He told me he'd call when he has something figured out, … … BUT HE HASN'T GOT IN CONTACT WITH ME!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well that's great. Crap is going downhill quick, and he's off doing who knows what. We don't have time to chase him around."

[ Lily ]  
"Well, what exactly have YOU been doing all this time?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I've been…"

"…"

"…improvising…"

"…"

"…productively…"

Lily shot me a confused look. Then her attention moved to behind me to Plutia. She also was holding the mirror that held Nepgear towards us so she too could see who I was talking to. Plutia gave a carefree wave at us. There wasn't a reaction from Lily other than a confused look, but she soon grabbed me by the ear with a huffy expression and pulled me in close to her.

[ Lily ]  
"What are you doing with them?!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I'm sorry! It's just that my productive improvising kinda requires me to look after them for the time being."

[ Lily ]  
"Have you forgotten rule 14 of the Vapor Syndicate's handbook to cross-dimension travelling?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
" Yes yes. "Members of the syndicate are not to make any contact with key figures while venturing in other dimensions unless such interactions are officially authorized by the Syndicate or in case of an extreme emergencies." I just kind of figured that the possibility of some unknown villain seeking to kill off the CPUs and reanimate all of Gamindustri counted as an extreme emergency."

[ Lily ]  
"You do know Misteam is gonna be really mad at us when she finds out that you did this and not tell her. I swear, if you run and hide and leave me to do the paperwork again, I am going to-…"

[ Plutia ]  
"Who's your fwieeeeeend?"

Both me and Lily jumped back as Plutia popped up next to us without warning.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"AH, Plutia. Can you please give us some warning before you insert yourself into the conversation? … … *Ahem* Uh, well since you asked. Plutia, this is Lily. Lily, Plutia."

Lily gave a cautious wave as if she was unsure as to how to respond to Plutia.

[ Lily ]  
"Uh, h-h-hhhhhiiiiiiiiiii?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Oh wow! She looks really pretty and elegant! And that tail of hers looks so fluffy and soft!"

Plutia pause as she began to stare at Lily all over, then her focus turned to her tail. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she fixated on it with curiosity and a hint of malicious intent.

[ Lily ]  
"Wh-WHA! NO!"

Lily quickly hugged her tail close to her body and tuned away in a panic.

[ Lily ]  
"Y-you cannot come anywhere near my tail. You hear me?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Aw! Why not? I just want to pet it, brush it, and fluff it."

[ Lily ]  
"Absolutely not! The only person who is allowed to fluff me is Chief!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

[ Nepgear ]  
"…"

[ Plutia ]  
"Dot dot dooooooooot!"

[ Lily ]  
"… That came out wrong."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Meh, we were overdue for a Noble quote anyway."

Lily scowled at me.

[ Lily ]  
"…Can we just go find Chief."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well, that's the plan. We should get a move on because I want to make a pit stop before we get to Lowee. In the meantime, can you take a quick look at my Shadow Suit?"

I removed the Shadow Suit from my back and handed it to Lily.

[ Lily ]  
"Of course. It's my job to make sure that the DLC suits are always-WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO TO MY BABY?!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Long story. I'll fill you in on the details along the way."

[ Lily ]  
"Grr…"

With that, we were about to head in the direction of out next destination.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…Wait…"

"…"

"OOHH! Oh uh."

Realizing that we almost forgot something very important, I quickly turned around to the spot where Lily landed.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uh, ummm. … … You ok, Noire?"

Noire was standing in the center of the crater on wobbly legs, a dazed look on her face, and the umbrella which is now damaged beyond repair in hand.

[ Noire ]  
"THIS UMBRELLA DIDN'T HELP AT ALL!"

* * *

It has been a little more than an hour since Noire left Uni in charge of Lastation. She was left with more questions than answers as she was left with no reason as to why Noire suddenly left. But as her sister and candidate of Lastation, she knew she had to do as Noire said and prepare the military defenses of her nation with whatever Shares were left. To do this, she enlisted the help of not only Kei, but also a third woman whom Noire would often turn to for help in times of crisis. This person had long black hair, dressed in a type of futuristic shrine maiden outfit, and had her signature naginata strapped to her back. She was very dependable in coming up with effective plans no matter how low the Shares of the nations may be. Now, she lives up to her reputation with balancing the remaining Shares with both the military and the economy. All three met up in the Basilicom of Lastation.

[ Senku ]  
"And with this, Lastation will still be a formidable military power while not collapsing ."

[ Kei ]  
"I see. This seems like a good strategy, but it wouldn't be a lie to say that this will keep Lastation going for long."

[ Senku ]  
"Indeed. With the Shares being focused in military defense instead of the economy, then you will be looking at a complete collapse in the nation in a matter of a few weeks. Maybe a month at best."

[ Kei ]  
"Well, I guess that means that whatever Noire plans to do, she better make sure it gets done quickly. Did she tell you what exactly she was going to do, Uni?

Kei tried to address Uni, but she appeared lost in thought.

[ Kei ]  
"Uni?"

[ Uni ]  
"Huh? Oh! I'm sorry. It's just that- … I want to believe that Noire is out there trying her best to get the Shares back to Lastation. It's just hard to have faith on her when I don't know what exactly she's doing. I hope she didn't-…"

[ Kei ]  
"…Well, I've known Noire for a while now. If there's anything I've learned about her, it's that she is both stubborn and loyal to her duties as a CPU. She would rather die than let Lastation fall to ruin on her watch. She probably has a solution that would be too dangerous for you to get you involved in. Which is why she is keeping you out of the loop for now."

[ Uni ]  
"…I…I see. Thank you, Kei."

As Kei reassured Uni, Senku watch from the sidelines trying to say her bit of comfort. She did plenty of business with Noire in the past and became very fond of her. Before she could say her take on the situation, her cell phone suddenly chimed.

[ Senku ]  
"Huh? Someone sent me a message."

She opened her phone to read the text.

[ Senku ]  
"Hmm, it would seem that someone else wants my counsel to this recent development right away. I'm afraid I must be going now."

[ Uni ]  
" S-Senku?"

[ Senku ]  
"Don't worry. I intend to do zero business with Planeptune. Between you and me, I find how those CPUs operate to be most unpleasant anyway. Do give my regards to Noire when she returns from whatever she is doing."

[ Uni ]  
"Ok. Thank you for all you have done for us. I'll be sure to tell Noire how much you helped us out again."

[ Senku ]  
"It's no problem at all. Farewell."

With that, she gave a bow to Kei and Uni and left the Audience Camber of the Basilicom.

[ Uni ]  
( Please Noire, come back soon.)

-Chapter End-


	12. Chap 12: Recruiting Duty

_I hope everyone is bearing with me. I am starting to fit working on fanart for this fanfic and I'm trying to balance work between the two. So may not have the most consistent schedule in uploading new chapters. I hope you will grant me a mulligan every now and then if a chapter takes a while._

Chapter 12: "Recruiting Duty."

After departing Lastation, Senku headed to the location where the text indicated which just happened to be outside the borders of Lastation. She had no problem venturing out to the middle of nowhere at nigh to meet with a stranger who left her a vague message on her phone. She had her Naginata with her and her skills with it in combat could rival the most skilled of Makers and even impress some of the Goddesses. She soon arrived at her destination and paused the moment she saw who was waiting for her. With her back facing Senku as she looked off at the lights that laminated the city of Lastation far into the distance stood a woman with long light purple hair and a large white jacket. There was a moment where she ignored Senku, then the person finally tuned and showed her face.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"…Senku…"

Senku was surprised to see the face of Nepgear before her, but she quickly regained her composer.

[ Senku ]  
"Oh, I'm sorry."

Senku gave a conceded smile.

[ Senku ]  
"But as I told Lastation, I have no intentions of doing any business with the likes of Planeptune. Though I appreciate that you would ask for my aid, but I must decline your offers on the spot. Now if you excuse me."

She bowed, turned on her heels, and began to walk away.

[ Fake Nepgear ]

"It's been a long time, Senku."

This remark made Senku stop in place and face Nepgear once again.

[ Senku ]  
"Who do you think you are to talk to me so…"

The fake shot Senku a cold stare. Senku analyzed the look she was given. After a pause, her face face tuned to shock and began to go pale.

[ Senku ]  
"N-no! It can't be…"

Senku began to tremble as she began to recognize who she was really talking to.

[ Senku ]  
"Mi-Mi-…MIvasu?!"

The fake brushed her hair back slightly.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"As sharp as ever. I am relieved you haven't been dulled during my absence."

Senku began to take steps back. Her composure has vanished and her expression was now borderline horrified.

[ Senku ]  
"Impossible. There's no way that can me you, MIvasu. You're supposed to be dead. The reports say that you were killed in LAN Castle."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"So that was the rumor that was spread about my fate? I guess the illusion of me being straight dead was helpful in keeping my vulnerable state out of the eyes of the other nations."

[ Senku ]  
"B-But how? How can you be here and with the appearance of Nep-."

"…That mirror! That cursed mirror you had with you when you came out of hibernation and carried with you up to the last time I saw you."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Yes, you are correct. It's that mirror that allowed me to take on the very essence of any CPU that looked into it. Of course, I did not anticipate the fact that in order for that to happen, then my essence needed to be in the mirror beforehand. So in a very ironic turn of events, I became a victim of my own trump card when I activated the mirror. And on top of that, the first person to gaze into it was just a CPU candidate."

The fake clenched the hilt of the Malice Blade at her waist.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"And now, feeding the blood of CPUS to this cursed sword is proving to be not as smooth as I anticipated."

The fake took a deep breath and regained her cool and cruel demeanor.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"But enough about my setbacks. It would seem you been quite successful in my absence. One would say you have become accustomed to living and thriving while not under my rule."

[ Senku ]  
"What? Now!"

Senku stumbled back almost in a panic. She began to grovel before the Fake.

[ Senku ]  
"Pl-please understand, Mivasu! The entire federation thought you were dead. You were the sole person holding it together. When the word reached us that you were dead, of course the army would lose morale and scatter without much of a fight. And without direction, I ran the risk of becoming useless to Gamindustry! If that happened, then I…I…I would be sent to the Gamindustry Graveyard. Even you can't deny that's the worse fate anyone could-…!"

Senku realized her tone and quickly covered her mouth. She shook as she hoped that she didn't anger the fake. The fake thought for a moment and took a deep breath before she spoke.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Of course I can't deny it. Which is why I bear no ill feelings towards you doing what you have to do."

Senku gave a sigh of relief.

[ Senku ]  
"Oh thank you! Thank-…"

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"But none of that is relevant now. I have returned and my path is put before me one again."

[ Senku ]  
Mi-Mivasu?

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"I am on the road to becoming the most powerful being Gamindustri has ever witness. My destiny… … our destiny will soon be realized. From the ruins of this world, a new world order will be born. One in which one nation rules all. I will be the CPU of that super nation, and you will serve me as the Oracle of that nation as we were both conditioned our whole lives to do."

[ Senku ]  
"I…I…"

The fake picked up on Senku's hesitation on the declaration and sighed.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"… At the very least, even you have to recognize that I am the most powerful of the CPUS and I run the strongest of all the Nations. And you of all people know just how dangerous I am if I was an enemy."

The fake walked up to Senku and stared her down.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"You don't want to be my enemy, right?"

[ Senku ]  
"I…I…"

"…"

"…no. I don't want to be your enemy during all this."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Wise choice. I always admired your judgement."

[ Senku ]  
"…"

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"But now, I need you to step up. I don't know what exactly happened to the Federation after I got imprisoned, but I'm pretty sure that it hasn't been completely dismantled."

Senku paused for a moment as she thought about whether or not to tell her the truth.

[ Senku ]  
"…Well… The auto-soldiers, who were the bulk of our army, was deactivated. However, they were sent to being held at the outposts that once belonged to the Federation and were shut down when it dissolved. I…I…I do have the means of reactivation both the outposts and the auto-soldiers."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Very good. Then I want you to immediately start reactivation everything. The outposts as well as our robotic army. I must continue to play the role of Nepgear for a while longer. So I must cut this meeting short. I shall return to Planeptune and begin preparations to pay the nation of Lowee a visit. If my memories and the memories of Nepgear are still accurate, then Blanc's fuse is as short as ever. It will take minimum effort to send her into a blind rage to the point where I can strike her down without her realizing she's already dead."

[ Senku ]  
"Of…of course. I will do as you say."

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"I'm counting on it. And also make sure that the two of my most capable subordinates are enlisted and briefed as well. I might have a small task for them in the future. I'll contact you as soon as I can."

With that, the fake left Senku and walked back in the direction of Planeptune. Senku was left there stunned at the change of circumstances. She hurried to leave the area as fast as she can.

[ Senku ]  
(What a fine state of affairs this has become! How could this have happened!)

She walked at a fast pace to follow the orders the fake has given her as her peaceful life took a complete 180.

[ Noire ]  
"Really!? An inn of all places?"

Noire scolded me as we arrived at the pit stop I was talking about earlier. It was an inn that was on the way to Lowee.

[ Plutia ]  
"I don't miiiiiiind. I could use a cat-nap right now. Isn't that right, Neppy Jr.?"

She held the small mirror with Nepgear up to her face.

[ Nepgear ]  
"I don't know how anyone can nap at a time like this."

Plutia gave Nepgear a disapproving look.

[ Nepgear ]  
"EEK! But if you need one, I won't stop you!"

As the other's bantered amongst themselves, Lily came up behind me and tugged on my sleeve.

[ Lily ]  
"Um, why did we come here? I mean, I think we should really focus on making sure Chief is OK."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wow. For someone who absolutely idolized Noble, you sure do have a lack of faith in the guy. He may be a dunce, but I'm sure he knows trouble when he sees it and will steer clear of it. Besides, the real reason why we came here is for them."

I motioned towards the CPUs

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"They are weak and vulnerable right now. I would feel better if we got them a bit more muscle to help them out."

[ Noire ]  
"So you decide to take us to some random inn in the middle of nowhere?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Of course! When a world breaking crisis befalls and it is up to a small group to stand against it, then the first place to go to get much needed help is always the inn."

[ Noire ]  
"That sounds… … awfully cliché."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Are you implying that this would isn't built on clichés? Let's take care of business and get you help so I can leave you all with a clean conscious."

[ Lily ]  
"What conscious?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Leave me alone!"

With that out of the way, I lead my party into the inn. When we stepped in, I scanned the dining area of the inn. It didn't take long for someone among the crowd to catch my attention. It was a person with a familiar white jacket, a black wizard's hat, and a staff at her side who was reading some sort of book with an ill kept cover. I shot an open hand at the person on the other side of the room while looking at Noire with an aggressive frown that said "I told you so!" She responded by giving me a huffy look that said "I'm not going to say you told me so."

[ Plutia ]  
"Soooooo, what do we do now."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I dunno, go do inny stuff. Take a nap, have a pint. I don't care. I just need a minute."

Everyone shot me a look, then Noire gave a shrug and motioned Plutia to follow her to another part of the tavern. Plutia followed with the mirror that held Nepgear in the palm of her hand. Lily gave me a look herself, then headed to another part of the tavern too. I on the other hand made a b-line for the person who caught my attention from across the room.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Mages!"

[ MAGES. ]  
"…"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…Mages?..."

[ MAGES. ]  
"…"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"… …. *sigh* … MAGES WITH A FRIGGIN PERIOD!"

[ MAGES. ]  
"Huh? Oh, you were referring to me. For a second, I was wondering who exactly you were talking too."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah yeah yeah. Anyway, how's it hanging?"

MAGES. Shot me an annoyed look and gave a sigh.

[ MAGES. ]  
"Well if you must know, I was reading ancient manuscripts to see if I could find any leads on the location of Duck Tear Popper. Perhaps you would fancy info on that as well."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Actually I'm more of a fan of the famed Mon' Tan Doo, but to each there own. Anyway, have you sensed anything … "off" in the world as of late?"

She paused for a moment. Apparently I peeked her interest.

[ MAGES. ]  
"Well if you must know, I have been sensing a strange flux in magical energy recently that I can quite explain."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ah, and would said flux happen to be originating from Planeptune? Or more specifically, a certain CPU candidate from Planeptune?"

Again MAGES. paused as trigger her curiosity.

[ MAGES. ]  
"You seem awfully keen to all this. Are you able to sense anomalies in a planets magical lay-lines?

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Er…no. It's just that said anomaly put a boot up my ass and I'm still salty about that. But anyway, what if I told you that the reason for the flux stems from the fact that Nepgear isn't the real Nepgear, but an imposter who brings dark magic in hopes of killing off the CPUs and brining ruin to all of Gamindustri?"

MAGES. blinked a few times. It was hard to tell if she took me seriously, or if she thought I was bat-shit crazy.

[ MAGES. ]  
"That would be a most interesting development, but I was not involved with the current events that have been going on as of late. My assistant on the other hand, has. Here she comes now."

I looked in the direction she indicated and saw another familiar face approaching with some drinks.

[ Falcom ]  
"Sorry, they didn't have it here either. I hope some green tea would be good enough for now."

[ MAGES. ]  
"That's fine. Anyway, have you met this man?"

Falcom look at me for a brief second. I waved and she shook her head.

[ MAGES. ]  
"He seems to think that the Nepgear within Planeptune is a fake who seeks to bring ruin to the world."

[ Falcom ]  
"Huh, a fake?"

Falcom wasn't as surprised as I anticipated.

[ Falcom ]  
"I, I had my suspicions. Nepgear did seem to change recently. I could understand her bringing the notion of putting all the worlds shares into one nation in this time of crisis, but I didn't think she would actually go through with it. I can't believe that the Nepgear I knew would invade Lastation while brandishing that cursed blade."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well you are right. Nepgear would never do that. Whoever that is, she took the reflection of Nepgear and left the real Nepgear in some sort of prison within a mirror which is in the care of Plutia and Noire over there."

I pointed over to Noire and Plutia and was taken back by them talking to someone. It was none other than MarvelousAQL. I couldn't hear what they were saying but I saw Plutia showing the mirror that held Nepgear to Marvy and a look of shock formed on her face. They continued talking amongst themselves. I gave a small fist pump and face back to Falcom and MAGES..

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uh *ahem* anyway, all three of them are vulnerable now and I am just trying to find them some help as they try to get to the other CPU before this fake does. If they are found out, then his new enemy would probably introduce them to a new form of pain and anguish the likes that no one have ever experienced."

[ ? ]  
"Did I hear someone say a new form of pain and anguish?"

I jumped at the sound of a voice that came out of nowhere.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Huh!? … … oh hey Tekken. Figured that would be the line to summon you."

[ Tekken ]  
"Oh, I'm sorry. It just that I can't stand to see any of my friends hurt. And if I could take a punch so a friend of mine doesn't, then I will gladly accept a little pain for their sake."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"You would. … … … You know what, I am on no position to nit-pick the motives of any who are willing to help us out. We accept you help."

[ Tekken ]  
Thank you! I promise I'll do whatever I can to help out."

[ Falcom ]  
"… … To think that everything that Nepgear and the others have been through that they, and Gamindustri itself, could end up in a potential cataclysm like this. If it will help save them and all of Gamindustri, then I'll be more than happy to help to."

The three of us then looked at MAGES..

[ MAGES. ]  
"… It's true that the dark energy that this fraud Is giving off does indeed threaten the balance of Gamindustri itself. It is my duty to make sure such power is banned from this world so it doesn't rip it apart. I shall aid your company too."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yes yes! Thank you all. I'm going to go on record and say that we all appreciate whatever help you can give us."

I was going to turn to retrieve Noire, Plutia, and Nepgear, but found they were already on their way to me with MarvelousAQL behind them.

[ Noire ]  
"Ok, I guess it was an OK idea to come here. It seems we were able to enlist a great deal of help."

[ Plutia ]  
"See, Neppy Jr.. You have a whole lot of people willing to help you out.

Plutia turned the mirror towards the three newly enlisted members so Nepgear could address them.

[ Nepgear ]  
"Th-thank you all! I am so sorry that my carelessness has become such an inconvenience, and I thank you all for willing to help me."

Falcom's eyes widened at her first sight of Nepgear being trapped in the mirror, then gave a reassuring smile.

[ Falcom ]  
"Don't worry. Well do everything in our power to help you get out of there and save your friends."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Perfect! I'd say this stop was successful. Now, let's round up Lily and-…"

[ 2 girls ]  
"BUUUUUEEEEEEHHHHHH!"

The shrill of 2 girls ran out in the inn. We all turned to the source and found both Lily and CyberConnect2 on the ground. They apparently questioned the authenticity of the other's tail and they grabbed the other's at the exact same time. Thus sending them both to the floor at the same time.

[ Lily ]  
"*Pant pant* No! You…you have to let go! *Pant* I … am unable to move. *pant pant* I can't resist!"

[ CyberConnect2 ]  
"*Pant pant.* I can't! I can't relax my body while you are … … holding my tail like that. *pant* I can't…can't… My mind… … is going blank."

[ Lily ]  
"I-I ahhhhh! Ju-ju ….. *pant* just try to be more gentle. Ahhh! Too firm! I- I- *Pant* ooooooohhhhh!"

I took a moment to thank my biological ancestors for all the cross breeding and messing with my genes so that I was granted orangutans hand big enough that it allows me to be able to have palms that could cover my whole face for situations like this.

-Chapter End-

Yes I know CyberConnect2's tail isn't real. I just threw that in there to be funny.


	13. Chap 13: Arriving at Lowee

_-Author's Notes-_

 _Be sure to follow me on twitter to keep up to date on the fanfic and maybe participate in future polls that'll affect the story in the future. Twitter Page is on my Profile._

Chapter 13: "Arriving at Lowee"

[ Neptune ]  
"Whelp, here we are! The grand nation of Lowee!"

Neptune made her loud announcement at the front gate of Lowee. She arrived there with the party of IF, Compa, and more importantly…

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Well, it has to be done. In order to stop the Diety of Sin and save Gamindustri, we must take to take the Shares of the other nations for power. And this is Blanc we are talking about. I doubt she will just surrender the Shares without a fight. We might have to suspect to do the worst."

[ Neptune ]  
"Or things will play out like they did in Lastation. I mean, Noire and Uni are still fine which is the best outcome we could've hoped for right?"

[ Fake Nepgear ]

"…"

[ Neptune ]  
"Junior?"

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
"Huh … … ye-yeah. But should the worst case scenario happen, we must be prepared to do what we must. Which may be a fight to the death with Blanc and her sister."

[ Neptune ]  
"Well, let's be unreasonably optimistic and hope for the best."

Neptune, Compa, and IF began to stoll into the capital city of Lowee while the fake Nepgear followed a few paces behind them.

[ Fake Nepgear ]  
(Hmmm, the CPU of Lowee. We can now officially meet. And if the memories of this Nepgear is correct, your fuse is as short as it was back then. There is no way you will refuse giving everything you have to protect the wellbeing of your nation and its Shares. And I will gladly fulfill your duties of a CPU and take everything you have when we meet. Your Shares, your candidates, and of course your life. I will leave nothing to chance like I did in Lastation. Your blood will be the first this sword tastes. I swear it.)

With that, the party moved into Lowee and began taking its Shares. The fake Nepgear had the hopes of taking much more.

* * *

-Ten hours later -

We finally arrived at Lowee. Not only did I manage to get Noire and Plutia up to speed as to what's going on, I enlisted the help of MAGES., Falcom, MarvelousAQL, Tekken, and CyberConnect2. They should be able to take care of themselves which would leave Lily and I to other priorities while in Lowee.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Good. We're here."

[ Plutia ]  
"Yay! We finally get to meet Blanny again."

She swings the mirror that contained Nepgear around playfully.

[ Nepgear ]  
"Eep! Please stop that! I'm starting to get motion sickness!"

[ MAGES. ]  
"Still, the security looks very heavy here. It looks like this nation has been put on lock down."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Which means that it may be difficult for anyone from the other nations to seek access."

[ Noire ]  
"Don't worry. I have a disguise that will get me to Blanc at least."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Really?!"

[ Noire ]  
"Of course. One sec."

Noire tuned away from us. After a few seconds of adjusting herself, she faced us again. The only thing that changed is that fact that she is now wearing glasses.

[ Noire ]  
"All done! What do you think?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]

"..."

"Is that it?"

[ Noire ]  
"Uh, yeah. Pretty effective, don't you think?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"… … Oh now I see it! I can truly see the genius in that disguise now!"

[ Noire ]  
"See! It never fails to hide my identity."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"It's like you're a different person! In fact, I'm beginning to doubt Noire was even here to begin with!"

[ Noire ]  
"… wait … you're being sarcastic aren't you?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I could have sworn Noire was here a moment ago! Excuse me Mrs. glasses wearing twin-tail lady, DID YOU EAT NOIRE JUST NOW!?"

[ Noire ]  
"FINE! The disguise isn't all that thought out. But it's still effective against the low level fools in this world."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"… …Glad we are in agreement."

[ Lily ]  
"You see what me and Chief had to put up with the past couple of weeks, Noire?"

[ Noire ]  
" You have my sympathy."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok, can we please just get this done?"

[ Lily ]  
"Umm, ummmm."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yes yes, Nobleis the priority of the both of us. We'll be sure to get him while they focus on what they gotta do."

[ Lily ]  
"Exellent! … … Though I'm sure that Chief can handle himself, it would be nice to at least get back with him."

With that, we walked up to the front gate. To be safe, Plutia tucked away the mirror that held Nepgear into her sleeve so she wouldn't be seen just yet. We were about to be confronted by the gate guards. Remembering the fake Nepgear sent a worldwide broadcast announcing me to be a spy, I tried to bury as much of my face into my collar while I kept a few paces behind Noire and Plutia. As we got close to the front gate, one of the guards approached our party.

[ Gate Guard A ]  
"HALT!"

We all jumped at the guard's command.

[ Gate Guard B ]  
"Oh. You have to excuse us. We guards are a bit … distraught these past few hours."

[ Plutia ]  
"Uhhh, why?"

[ Gate Guard B ]  
"Well, hard times have fallen on Lowee and-…"

[ Noire ]  
"Hard times?! What Happened?"

The Makers, Lily and myself inch closer behind the CPUs as to listen in to the answers the guard was going to provide us.

[ Gate Guard A ]  
"Well some hours ago, Planeptune invaded us."

All of us jumped back in shock at the guard's remark.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oh no. They beat us here? Damn! We were too late."

A feeling of despair began to fall on us.

[ Noire ]  
"It can't be. What did they do?"

[ Gate Guard A ]  
"They ransacked the whole city and took damn near every Share that we had. And the Shares they did leave us will be all used up in a few weeks."

[ Gate Guard B ]  
"We can expect a full nation collapse when that happens."

All of our heads hung low as we were it with this news.

[ Plutia ]  
"Soooo, that means-… They must have been killed when they tried to stop them."

[ Gate Guard A ]  
"Pardon?"

[ Noire ]  
"Yeah. The CPU and the Candidates? Didn't they try to stop Planeptune?"

[ Gate Guard B ]  
"Actually, no."

Everyone present gave a look of shock as we all said "HUH?" in unison.

[ Gate Guard B ]  
"Uh, yeah. Our CPU and the Candidates were a no show during the whole thing. She had … … other things on her mind when Planeptune came."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"So the Shares of Lowee are ransacked, yet the CPU and the Candidates are still alive and well?"

[ Gate Guard A ]  
"Pretty much."

We were all stunned. The CPUs, Makers, Lily and I didn't know whether to react to the bad news, or the good news. After a pause that lasted a few seconds, me, Lily, and Noire turned away into a huddle. Plutia was slightly slower, but joined us as well so we can speak in hushed voices.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok! First and foremost, the good thing that all of us can agree on is that Blanc and her sisters being fine when we got here is the best thing any of us can hope for."

"But WHAT THE HELL would be more important to Blanc than defending her Shares form an enemy nation?"

[ Noire ]  
"I have no idea. I mean … … of course she's not as dedicated to her nation as I am, but I'm sure she wouldn't give up the Shares of her nation quietly without an extremely good reason."

I gave Noire an unimpressed look. Plutia took this time to look at a screen by the gate that showed the live feed of current events in Lowee. She focused on the pictures that was on the screen

[ Plutia ]  
"Let's seeeeee. Looks like the major thing that's happening now has something to do with a rooster or something."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"A rooster?"

I took a look at the live feed of the current events to see what Plutia was talking about.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"… Wait … That's not a rooster! That's … … THAT'S…"

[ Lily ]  
"CHIEF!"

There was no mistaking it. It was Noble's profile that was shown on the screen during the news feed.

[ Noire ]  
"That's him? Doesn't look like much, but why is he top story on the news feed."

[ Plutia ]  
"Hmmm…."

Plutia took a closer look at the screen.

[ Plutia ]  
"It saaaaayyyyys … that he is gooooooing to beeeeee … Executive tomorrow morning."

"Oh that's cool! They're giving him a position in office in Lowee!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Huh? Executive?"

Noble being able to get an office in Lowee or anywhere just didn't click in my mind. I tried to confirm Plutia by seeing the same article in the screen as her and found the error she made.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oh! Silly, Pluita. That doesn't say 'Executive'."

[ Plutia ]  
"Really?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah. That word there is 'executed'."

[ Plutia ]  
"Executed?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah, Noble is going to be executed tomorrow morning."

"…"

"..."

"THE FUUUUUU-?!"

-Chapter End-

- _Arthor's Notes-  
_

 _Please note that the ending of this chapter may be tweeked abit in the future._


	14. Chap 14: Infiltrating Lowee

-Author's Notes-

 _Do follow me on twitter to partake in the first poll that affects the story. This poll will be regarding the name of the main protagonist. You can select to keep the name the same, or change it to one of the given names on the post. My twitter page will be on my author profile page._

-Disclaimer-

 _The following is a non-profit fanfic. Hyperdimention Neptunia is owned by JP Sega, Compile Heart. and Idea Factory. Please support the official release. Also, all references and inside jokes from Noble of Lost Pause are owned by their respected owner. Please support this beautiful bastard or else Lily will hunt you down and flay your asses._

-Chapter 14: Infiltrating Lowee-

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"What the hell is happening!?"

I said this after finding out the status of Noble. I paced back and forth trying to figure out how he ended up in that position.

[ Lily ]  
"Why?! Why would Chief be put up for execution?"

While I was pacing back and forth and Lily was left in a tizzy, the CPUs and the Makers decided to look at a brochure handed to them by the guards regarding the events.

[ MAGES. ]  
"Hmm, it says here "Noble has been sentenced to death for high-treason and slander." Hmm, this is rather questionable."

[ Noire ]  
"It is."

Noire turned to me.

[ Noire ]  
"Are you sure you members of this Vapor Syndicate aren't out to try to bring ruin to the other nations from the inside."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"No! Of course not! I thought I proved my innocence already."

[ Noire ]  
"Well that may be, but what about this guy?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Noble? Hell no! He would never willingly do anything that would jeopardize the stability of this world. … … I mean, he may fuck something up on accident and land himself in hot water every now and then due to lapse in judgement. But seriously, he wouldn't do anything like that."

[ Lily ]  
"That's Right! Chief is worthy of the name Noble. He would never do anything sinister."

[ Falcom ]  
"Well, then what do you think happened?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I dunno. I mean, let's look at what we got here. Planeptune has already been here and ransacked the nation of its Shares. But, Blanc and the sisters are alright. And on top of that, Noble is put up for execution for whatever reason. I doubt Blanc would still be alive if she was set on defending the future of her nation. So … perhaps …"

I take a moment to go deep in thought

[ Noire ]  
"What's going though that head of yours?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Tell me, would it be too farfetched of a thought to assume that maybe the fake Nepgear somehow managed to bribe or threaten Blanc into allying with her?"

[ Noire ]  
"What? There no way! Blanc is too good of a CPU to ever be swayed into serving another nation."

"…"

"I mean…"

Noire puffed out her chest and threw on a proud face.

[ Noire ]  
"She may not be as dedicated to her nation as I am or as much as a hard working CPU like I am, But I know for a fact she wouldn't throw her nation under the bus like that."

I pinch the bridge of my nose to try to sooth the cringe.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"All I'm saying is that we don't know. Hence the possibility must be there. So until we get some clear answers, I think it's better that you don't make an appearance in Lowee or before Blanc just yet. So, your best bet is to wait out here until we know what's going on.

[ Plutia ]  
"Ummmm oooooookkkkkkk."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Right. So, you and Noire will wait out here and keep Nepgear close to you."

[ Noire ]  
"Um, alright."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Great. Lily and MAGES., you two should stay with them so you can protect them if anything were to happen."

[ MAGES. ]  
"I guess that's a smart move."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Perfect. Now … … um … Falcom, Cyberconnect2 and Tekken, you patrol the outskirts and immediately call us if you see anyone from Planeptune coming."

[ Falcom ]  
"Ok! Leave it to us."

[ Lily ]  
"Um, …. Uuuuuummmmm."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yes yes, I'm getting to that. Marvy."

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Huh?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"You shinobi expertise comes with some stealth and infiltration tricks and not just some ninja poofs or Raisin Gun whatevers, right?"

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Uh, of course. Knowledge in stealth operations is necessary for a shinobi."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Good! You're gonna be with me. We are gonna break Noble out of that dungeon."

[ Noire ]  
"Gee, are you sure you want to risk doing something that would piss of Blanc?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Me? Wanna piss of Blanc? BAH! I ain't that crazy as to intentionally make her upset."

[ Plutia ]  
"Hmm, I thought you'd enjoy that. You did say you were a maso-"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"HEYO! We all got our assignments. Let's hop to it then. Marvy, let's go."

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"R-right."

We all split. I had Marvy in tow, Falcom, Cyberconnect2, and Tekken walked off to keep an eye out for anyone from Planeptune, and Noire, Plutia, Lily, and MAGES. bunkered down out of sight. Plutia took out the mirror that held Nepgear and tried to boop her nose to pass the time.

[ Noire ]  
"He … … has a few loose screws, doesn't he?"

[ Lily ]  
"You have no idea. Me and Chief got our work cut out with that one."

* * *

I spoke with MarvelousAQL about any secret passages that could get us close to the Lowee prison quickly and quietly from outside the city. She knew of a secret direct path that could take us straight there.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Of all the things that we have to do to fix this mess, this one thing I'd never expected me to do."

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Are you worried about him?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Worried? Nah! If anything, he'll make light of the situation and expand his harem by recruiting the likes of Greg, Tim and Big Chuck."

After a few minutes, we arrived at our destination. It was what appeared to be a green metal stump coming out of the ground that was covered in a thick layer of vines.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Is this it?"

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Yup, that would be the one."

I tore away at the vines and underneath was one of the green pipes that are famous throughout Lowee. Though it was a bit old, rusty, and dusty, there was no questioning its authenticity. I gave it a quick look-over once I cleaned it off.

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Lowee has a pipe system that allows for people to travel quickly through the city. This one should take us straight to the prison undetected."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Good work. Let's get this show on the road."

I ready myself to jump in the pipe.

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Um ummm, you might what to be careful."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Why?"

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Well …. … you see … … making sure these pipes run smoothly and safely requires frequent inspections and maintenance. Taking one of these pipes that haven't been maintained regularly may be … … slightly hazardous."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oh pish-posh! I did this all the time when I was a kid. I'm positive nothing bad will happen."

With that, I jumped up, did a little flip, and dove head first into the pipe. Like Marvy said, the exit pipe was quite close to the Lowee prison and was even pointed to the wall of the prison at an angle. However, as I exited, I realized I should have took the warning Marvy gave me more seriously. The only part that she wasn't accurate about was the "slightly" part.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"BAD HAPPEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNDDDDDDD!"

I screamed this as I was shot out of the pipe and sent flying through the air uncontrollably at a high velocity like a cannon ball. Due to the angle the exit pipe launched me at, I didn't stop dead the moment I contacted the ground. But instead, I was left skipping across the ground like a ragdoll. All the while swearing which each bounce.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"DAH! …. FUCK! … SHIT! … GAH! … BALLS! … WILHELM! … FOOT! … RIBS! … SOULDER! …. KNEE! … SPINE!"

I finally arrived at the wall of the Lowee prison. And by arrived, I mean face first at 15 MPH

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
" …..ffffffface….."

On the other side of the wall, two guards were posted who somehow didn't hear my "less than subtle approach

[ Guard F ]  
"Hey, do you get the feeling some of us are paired together for comedic purposes?"

[ Guard U ]  
"No, not really."

Marvy was able to come out of the pipe much more gracefully than me. She contacted me over her ear-piece.

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"I thought you said we are going to try to be stealthy for this. What are you doing making so much noise?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oh, I'm sorry! I tend to loose all bearing when I AM SHOT OUT OF A GODDAMNED PIPE OF LOWEE AT MACH FUCKING TWO AND LEFT BOUNCING ALONG THE GROUD LIKE SOME ICON IN A FUCKING DISNEY SING-ALONG!"

* * *

After a few minutes, Marvy met back up with me before the walls of Lowee's prison. We quietly peek over the wall to get a good look at the security on the inside. There was only a dozen or so guards on the inside. Nothing that Marvy and I couldn't sneak past. I look to Marvy to see where she would direct me, and she responded by pointing at one of the windows at the base level of the prison.

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"There. That window should get us inside and it would be a straight shot to the lower levels."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Alright. Let's get it done then."

Me and Marvy hopped over the wall and landed on the inside. We landed undetected with a clear path to the window. I looked at the guards, then look at Marvy, and motioned to the window. We were about to move and would have got there without alerting them, but … …

*Boing Boing*

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Huh?"

[ Guard ]  
"Did you hear something?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"AP!"

I held my mouth and signaled Marvy to freeze. Silence was all that was hard.

[ Guard ]  
"Hmm, must have been my imagination."

The guard returned to his duties. I shot a look at Marvy and she looked at me confused.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"*Sigh* Whatever. Let's continue."

We began to move again. However … …

*Boing boing boing*

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"The hell?"

[ Guard ]  
"There it is again!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Gah!"

I turned to Marvy.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Marvy! What the hell?"

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Wha-? I'm not doing anything."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
" … …. Wait … was … was that your boobs?"

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Wait. WHAT?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(Damn, I should of taken into account that the people of Lowee would be unfamiliar with the sound of tits crashing together. Great, now what?)

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Grr… … Alright. Change in plans. You distract the guards, and I'll sneak into the prison and break out Noble."

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"What? You can't make me do that!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Sorry, but you don't have the choice in the matter. Good luck!"

Almost simultaneously, I gave Marvy's boobs a quick slap and made a mad dash for the window.

*BOING BOING BOING!*

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"WHA! HEY!"

[ Guard A ]  
"Huh? Look! A big booby ninja girl."

[ Guard B ]  
"Get her!"

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"You-YOU JERK!"

She gave me one last curse before taking of in the other direction with all the guards chasing after her. I then crawled into the widow."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I am so semi-sorry."

I hopped down from the window and made it inside the prison undetected. I began my decent into the prison. I stopped as I heard a howl echo from deep in the prison.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wow! What? Has Lowee begun torturing animals in here or something?"

"…"

"…Wait … that's not an animal. That's … THAT'S NOBLE! Hang on, bro. I'm coming!"

With that, l picked up my pace to the lower levels of the prison.

-Chapter End-


	15. Chap 15: Break out

_-Author's Notes-_

 _I'd like to take a moment to thank everyone who participated in the pole on my twitter regarding the name of the main protagonist. (The name will remain the same due to the result of that poll) But now, I want to up the impact that these polls will have in this fanfic. I am not sure as to how many of you reading are familiar of the Channel of Lost Pause on Youtube where Noble Maibigbutt is featured. If not, go check it out for plenty of laughs. If you are, then you are aware of some of the recurring jokes and meme characters that happen on that channel. So I want the readers here to help bring those memes to this fanfic. So without further a due. In the next few chapters, there will be a minor villain making an appearance who will try to hunt down Noble and which Noble must overcome and beat. This minor villain will be one of the famous meme characters that recurs in the Lost Pause channel. It is up to you to decide who the villain in this arc will be. So head over to my twitter page, the URL will be at the top of my account profile, give if a follow if you'd like, and vote on the poll to decide if you want to see: A very "thirsty" Gustav, Sponsorman, or Noble's competitive uglier brother Rugmunch Maibigbutt take to this fanfic. Note that the next chapter may come a bit late due to this, but I think this will be fun._

Chapter 15: "Break out."

In the deepest part of the Lowee prison, two guards stand at a cell where the howls of Noble could be heard from the inside. The screams began to make the guards on edge.

[ Cell Guard A ]  
"Uh, don't you think what we are doing to this guy is a bit … … too much?"

[ Cell Guard B]  
"You want to take it up with the CPU?"

[ Cell Guard A ]  
"Oh god no! I rather not piss her off. I'm just saying I can't help but feel sorry for the guy."

[ Cell Guard B ]  
"Well, we are just throw away guards in this nation. We don't interfere with the decisions of the higher-ups."

[ Cell Guard A ]  
"Well I say we cut him a break so his final night is at least a peaceful one."

[ Cell Guard B ]  
"I say we just ignore him so we don't get into trouble."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"And I say you two knock yourselves out and save me the trouble as I break this guy out."

[ Cell Guard A ]  
"Well that last idea sounds … wait WHAT!"

I successfully snuck up on the guards. I dispatched the first one with a swift side kick and knocked him out instantly. I used the confusion and dashed behind the second guard and got him in a sleeper hold with one arm and held his weapon in place with the other. The guard began to grunt as I cut off the blood to his brain.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Go to sleep! Go to sleep! Go to sleep sleep sleep!"

After a few seconds of struggling, the guard's body went limp and he finally passed out. I gently set the guard down on the floor and picked the set of keys from his belt. I fiddled through each key until I found the one that unlocked the door. I undid the lock and cracked the door open slightly. I couldn't help but pause taking note of Noble's cry coming from inside the cell.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(What the hell is doing that to Noble? A powerful torturer? A couple of demon minions or something? I better not take any chances.)

I gripped my Iron tonfas tightly and using my shoulder, I tackled the door and swung it open. I leaped inside while doing an over the top martial art show of intimidation.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"WATA! AAATATATATAAA! WAYAKACHU HAYAKAAAAaaaaa … … whaaaa?"

During my pointless kung fu ballet, I caught sight of Noble. He was strap to a chair in the middle of the cell by himself. His head was trapped in a vice that also propped his eyelids open and forced him to watch something on a T.V. screen in front of him. For the most part, he was perfectly fine with not a scratch on him. Seeing as there were no apparent threats in the cell, I dropped my guards and casually walked up to Noble who was still wailing while looking at the television screen.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"… …. Ok. Not gonna lie, but this all seems so … … anti-climactic."

Noble was still unaware of my very presence as he is still screaming at the T.V. screen

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I mean, from the outside I expected something a bit more gruesome, but instead you are here in one piece, perfectly fine …. …"

I finally looked at what he was forced to watch on the T.V.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"And forced to watch Boko no Pico."

"…"

"Pico?"

"…"

"PICO AAH AAH AAH AAH AAH!"

It was at this point that my brain shut off all of my senses from transmitting information to my long-term memory. Out of pure muscles reflex, I managed to grab a pipe in the cell and instantly bashed the T.V. Bashing it to pieces in a fit of traumatic fury. The T.V. was reduced to a pile of shattered class and mangled plastic under the weight of my fear as if what I was assaulting was the plague that would end humanity. When all was dark and quiet, I came back to my senses and finally dropped the chipped pipe while trembling and breathing heavily.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"*Pant … pant … pant …pant* I banish you to the void! *Pant* Where you can never harm another soul again!"

"…"

"…Oh god NOBLE!"

Remembering where I was and what I was here to do, I turned my attention back to Noble. I quickly began to undo the vice that held his head in place.

[ Noble ]  
"Oh god! It was awful!"

I finally undid the straps that bound Noble to the chair. He got up and walked around all while rubbing his eyes and stretching out.

[ Noble ]  
"All three episodes. On repeat. … UNCENCORED!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!"

[ Noble ]  
"…"

There was a long pause. I waited to hear how Noble got caught in the middle of some ploy where the fake wanted to end any members of the syndicate that may have got in her way. I expected Noble to be nothing more than a victim here, but…

[ Noble ]  
"Now promise me you won't get mad."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

When I heard Noble say this, my head cocked to the side and one of my eyes started to twitch.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"… Here's the thing. When someone tells me to not get mad, it usually means they are about say something that they think will aggravate me to the point where I want to rip their jugular vein out with my teeth."

[ Noble ]  
"Now now! If you listen to the story from beginning to end, you'll see that what happened to me was … some-what beyond my control."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

I waved my hand signaling Noble to continue.

[ Noble ]  
"Ok, after finding out what happened during this ending, I decided to get involved with preventing any of that from happening."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Tracking."

[ Noble ]  
"So I told Lily to wait in the city and I went to one of the guards and told them I wanted to help."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Tracking."

[ Noble ]  
"I told them what I had, what I could do, the power of the Light Suit DLC, and other things. The guards were interested."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Tracking."

[ Noble ]  
"So they sent my request to their captain who was interested. Then the captain sent the request up to the General. And the request kept going up, and up and up and eventually I was … I was … … "

Noble paused and pressed his index fingers together.

[ Noble ]  
" I .. I… I was granted a private audience with Blanc to discuss the matter directly to her."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"…Oh god…"

-Ten Hours earlier. Noble's perspective. –

There I was finally face to face with Blanc. I was talking to the CPU of Lowee for the first. We met in the meeting room of the Basilicom where she discusses matters with her officers and politicians. I sat at the table on the tatami mat in the middle of the room. Blanc sat across from me as we sat there and drank some natural tea. I intended to have a serious talk with Blanc, but this was Blanc … and it was me. So naturally, the conversation ended up to this point.

[ Noble ]  
"There is no denying that your charm far surpasses any of the other CPUs by a large margin."

[ Blanc ]  
"Oh my god..."

The conversation went on with me smooth talking her in my manly voice and her face getting redder and redder.

[ Noble ]  
"Your quiet persona mixed with your passion in your job as a CPU makes you moe on a scale that only a goddess could achieve."

[ Blanc ]  
"Oh my god!"

I couldn't help but pop my collar and have my eyebrows dance up and down as it appears I won Blanc over, but I wanted to make sure how solid my victory here was. So I took this opportunity to look slightly to Blanc's left where I saw my status of the Date Grid. It was my last turn and I used up all of my date gifts. However, the affection meter was almost full. I saw that I could slide a talent token over and make a vertical matching row which would give me more than enough of the required points. With a wave of my finger, the talent token moved into the column and made a row of four.

*Poof*

[ Noble ]  
"And I would be more than happy to be the guy you bump into as you run down the sidewalk with a piece of toast in your mouth."

[ Blanc ]  
"OH MY GOD!"

Blanc blushed with a hand on her cheek as she looked as if total bliss has taken over her. I couldn't help but do a mini-dance at my apparent victory which caused me to take my eyes off the date grid. I didn't see the column move down with replacement tokens to fill the newly made spaces. One of those replacement tokens just happened to be a purple broken heart token. And that broken heart token stopped between two pairs of other broken heart tokens.

*Poof*

[ Noble ]  
"Of course it would be like me crashing into a wall seeing as your chest is the same shape."

"…"

"…"

"UWAAAGH?!"

Blanc snapped out of her blissful high and her face turned to one of shock.

[ Blanc ]  
"A, uh …. Wha?"

[ Noble ]  
"NO! WHAT I MEAN TO SAY IS…!"

But it was too late. The big purple failure was slapped on the date grid and the affection meter drop to zero and the whole thing disappeared into nothingness. The room got both heavy and chilly.

[ Noble ]  
"Uh, uuuhhhh….."

It was so quiet that I could hear a breeze in the room. The only reaction I could do was to put on a cheezy smile, shrug my shoulders while lifting my hands and just shook my head in a comedic mannor. It was then that I felt the room shake with tremors that grew more and more violent as if an earthquake was going on beneath us. But on looking closer, the shaking came from the table with was shaking under the weight of Blanc hands which were now fists. Her head was down as her fist shook the table as well as the room like she was about to bust with the purest of rage. I tried to raise a hand to her, but she immediate stood up with a loud stop while brandishing her trade mark yandere eye.

[ Blanc ]  
"OFF WITH HIS HEAD!"

[ Noble ]  
"W-w-w-…"

At her command, guards that were posted outside the room came barging in and descended on me with ropes and chains. My vision blurred as they all surrounded me and took me into custody and hauled me off to the dungeon.

-Present time: xxBigPhilxx's perspective.-

[ Noble ]  
"And that's how it all happended."

I was left speechless with my mouth hanging wide open with a blank stare. My eyes darted to all corners of the cell as if the explanation to what the hell happened would have been found in one of them. After a few speechless, mind-fucked seconds, I finally spoke.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"…"

"Wow. … … I mean … WOW! I don't know whether to be upset … … or impress on how hard you dropped the ball with this one. This kind of level is damn near unprecedented. "

[ Noble ]  
"But you came here to break me out of this cluster-fuck, right?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"… … Ya know, if I did save you from these circumstances, then you won't learn anything. Luckily for you, shit hit the fan something fierce. So I need your help in stopping Gamindistri falling into ruin. Which requires you to be out of here."

[ Noble ]  
"Well I appreciate the gesture, but how do we get past the guards?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Don't worry. I got all that covered. Everyone here is chasing around Marvy."

[ Noble ]  
"Wait…Marvy?!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah. It's quite amazing. The way they are chasing her around, ya think the people of Lowee never seen a nice pair of tiiiiiiiiiiii….iiiiiirifying kodachies wielded by a ninja girl."

[ Noble ]  
"… …. Your tact is to be commended, bro."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ya damn right. Now, let's not waste any more time here and leave before they know you are gone."

[ Noble ]  
"Um … you're not gonna tell Lily about this, are you? She'll never let me live it down."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I know. She'll probably try to rip your butt off."

"…"

"Which is why I am half tempted to give her every juicy detail of what happened here."

[ Noble ]  
"You sir are a cruel bastard."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"And proud of it. Now let's go. I rather not be labeled as an enemy of the state until after I have fled the nation. Now let's hop to it now."

Noble let out a sigh as I headed to the door of the cell, but he soon regained his composer and followed me as we made our way out of the prison and on our way to the borders of the city.

-Chapter End-

 _-Authors notes-_

 _Once again, do head over to my twitter page and vote on which character you want to see make an appearance as a villain in the next upcoming arch._


	16. Chap 16: The Bounty Hunter

_-Author's Notes-_

 _I must say, I never expected to get so many different results from different sources in regards to who everyone wants to see as a minor villain. I even got a preference from Noble himself. I might need another chapter before I reveal the identity of this villain to do some sorting out. I will keep the poll running on my titter to get more votes on the side of twitter, but know that my twitter isn't the only source of votes I'm getting._

Chapter 16: "The Bounty Hunter."

[ Blanc ]  
"What do you mean 'he escaped'?!"

Blanc reacted as the prison guard relayed what happened in the prison regarding Noble. She sat on her high seat at the end of the audience room of the Lowee Basilicom with Mina standing at her side.

[ Prison Guard ]  
"M-m-my sincerest apologies, mi'lady! He had friends that snuck into the prison grounds and distracted the guards. They managed to knock out the guards to his cell and break him out."

Blanc paused and had a frustrated expression.

[ Blanc ]  
"All the bad things that have transpired up to now. Being trapped in the Gamindustri Graveyard, having the world about the end, having the other nations try to throw my nation under the bus for their own sake, and having some random stranger play me for a fool and tarnished my womanly figure. And you mean to tell me that the only outlet for all my frustration just WALTZED OUT THE DAMN DOOR?!"

[ Prison Guard ]  
"I'm sorry! We'll put all our effort into finding this guy."

[ Blanc ]  
"You better, or else you can take his place. Now get out!"

[ Prison Guard ]  
"EEP!"

The Guard ran out as if death incarnate chased him out. Blanc slammed her fist into her legs as she sat back down. Mina finally attempted to get her attention.

[ Mina ]  
"Um, Lady Blanc. Don't you think that all this is … … a bit much?"

[ Blanc ]  
"Tch…"

[ Mina ]  
"I mean, while you were in a fit over what this guy has done, Planeptune invaded Lowee and took a great deal of our Shares. There is barely enough left to keep the nation going for maybe a month. Don't you think we should focus on dealing with the issue with Planeptune and let this incident slide."

[ Blanc ]  
"The hell we should let it slide! Do you think the other nations will take me seriously if I look the other way when someone makes me look like a fool? It's high time I send a message to the other nations as to what happens when I am double crossed. And he will make a perfect example."

[ Mina ]  
"Lady Blanc …."

During their banter, the door to the chamber slid open. A man stepped forth and approached Blanc with a confident, yet sly, posture and offered a polite bow.

[ ? ]  
"Oh my, it seems I visited your grand nation at a bad-."

[ Blanc ]  
"Who is this asshole? And why is he pestering me?

[ ? ]  
"Oh, excuse my poor manners. I just happen to be a passer-by who wanted to take in the sights of Lowee. I arrived and heard about a certain upcoming event. … …. An upcoming event that was going to happen tomorrow morning involving someone who sounds like he rubbed you the wrong way."

[ Blanc ]  
"…"

[ ? ]  
"But by the looks of it, it seems that the event is called off since the guy seemed to have escaped."

[ Blanc ]  
"Get to the point. Who the hell are you anyway?"

[ ? ]  
"Well as I said, I'm just a humble passer-by. However, I do make a living as a … … "bounty hunter" if you will."

[ Blanc ]  
"… a bounty hunter?"

[ Bounty Hunter ]  
"That's correct. Someone puts a price a price on someone else, I go out and collect them and bring them back to you to do as you will."

[ Blanc ]  
"…"

[ Bounty Hunter ]  
"By the looks of it, you could really use my services in capturing Noble. So I am willing to take the job if the price is right. Though some may cause my methods … … unorthodox, I never fail to capture my quarry."

[ Blanc ]  
"…"

"And you are sure you can drag him back here?"

[ Bounty Hunter ]  
"Oh, Mi lady. All I need is a few minutes with him, and I can get him willingly crawling back here begging you to put him out of his misery."

Blanc paused as she weighed the offer.

[ Mina ]  
"Blanc, you can possibly be considering-…"

[ Blanc ]  
"Very well. Capture Noble, drag him back here, and I shall reward you for your services."

Mina's face lit up in shock and the bounty hunter smiled a sinister grin.

[ Bounty Hunter ]  
"You are too kind, mi'lady. I'll have Noble back before you within a few days."

The bounty hunter gave one final bow to Blanc and the turned on his heel and walked out the room.

[ Mina ]  
"Lady Blanc, do you think it's wise to enlist the aid of someone so shady?"

[ Blanc ]  
"Tch…"

[ Mina ]

(These are trying times. Blanc is not herself. I hope she can calm down and returns to her rational and collective self.)

Mina thinks to herself as she hopes that there is something that could make this horrible situation better.

* * *

[ Lily ]  
"CHIIIEEEEFFFF!"

Lily jumped up as myself and Noble met up at the meeting point outside the city of Lowee. Noire, Pultia with the mirror that held Nepgear in hand, and MAGES. all stood by as our reunion was happening. In addition, Marvy was able to escape the guards and beat us here. I could see out of the corner of my eye that she was glaring at me angrily.

[ Noble ]  
"Yeah. Sorry for making you worry like that, Lily. I hope I didn't scare you too much."

[ Lily ]  
"I'm just happy that you are still in one piece, Chief! What happened in there anyway?"

[ Noble ]  
"Well I … uh … "

He took a quick glance at me and I gave him a judgmental stare.

[ Noble ]  
"I was merely caught in a ploy by the other nations that tried to overthrow Lowee. I was caught in the middle and had no control."

[ Lily ]  
"Oh my god! That's terrible!"

[ Noble ]  
"Oh no worries."

He put his fists on his hips and puffed out his chest.

[ Noble ]  
"I was in no real danger due to my skills. I just went along to try and defuse the rift between the nations."

[ Lily ]  
"That's my Chief! Always willing to put himself in danger for the greater good"

[ Noble ]  
"Ha ha ha! Nothing is too much for when it comes for heroics"

I rubbed the bridge of my nose as the truth of what really happened relayed in my mind. Noire and MAGES. walked up to me as Lily and Noble conversed.

[ Noire ]  
"You really think this rooster looking guy can help us out? He seems a little … … strange to me."

[ MAGES. ]  
"Agreed. I know I should never judge a book by its cover. But…"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Believe it or not, he is much more capable than he appears to be."

"…"

"Even if his quirks are subject of much of my cringing."

Noble and Lily finally turned their attention back to us.

[ Noble ]  
"Anyway, I still can believe Nepgear would take such actions. Was there no way we could negotiate with her."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah things have gotten complicated in the outside world."

[ Noble ]  
"What happened? Give me every detail."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Every detail? Ok, strap yourself in."

Noble waited for me to tell him everything.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"Blabber blabber yadda yadda rim-tu"

[ Noble ]  
"A FAKE!?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yup. Plutia is holding the real Nepgear."

I pointed to Plutia who was swinging the mirror that held Nepgear around playfully much to Nepgears dismay.

[ Noble ]  
"Holy shit! This is some serious stuff. I take it you've been building up some kind of resistance?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Eh, something like that. So be on the safe side, we need you fully equipped and at you peak in case anything happens to us. Lily, give him the goods."

[ Lily ]  
"Right away, Chief!"

Lily reached for her endless tool box. She opened it, dug inside, and pulled the weapons Noble chose to bring on this adventure. Two sets of nunchuks.

[ Lily ]  
"Here you go, Chief. I kept your nunchucks safe like you requested."

[ Noble ]  
"Thank you, Lily."

Noble took the pairs of nunchucks, gave them a quick spin, then tucked them into his belt.

[ Noble ]  
"Ok, now the final things I left with you."

[ Lily ]  
"Yup yup!"

Lily went back into her tool box. This time, she pulled out two bottles of what appeared to be water. There was a slight radiant shine coming from them. Noire look at the bottles that were given to Noble, then turned to me.

[ Noire ]  
"Really? That's supposed to be of use? They just look like bottles of water."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"That's not just ordinary water those bottles are holding mind you. That is JUSTice water."

[ MAGES. ]  
"JUSTice water? Hmm, I do sense some magical quality emanating from it though."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yup. Normally, there is no effect if you drink it by itself. But if you drink it while wearing the Light Suit DLC, then the suit is infused with radiant light energy for maximum output in power."

[ Noire ]  
"You don't say?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"But as I said. It's useless without Noble's Light Suit DLC. So go ahead and hook him up with that Lily."

[ Lily ]  
"Huh? But Chief, didn't you take that Suit into the city with you?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Noble?"

[ Noble ]  
"Eh heh heh…..heh…"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"That was a bad 'Eh heh heh" wasn't it?"

[ Noble ]  
"Yeah well… … I may … … not have it on me right now."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Huh. Did Lowee confiscated it while they were taking you into custody or something?"

[ Noble ]  
"Well …"

"…"

"I may of…"

"…"

"Given it away before I met with Blanc."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

\- Chapter End -


	17. Chap 17: A New Villain, or an Old One

\- Author's Notes -

I must say, I had a real tough time on who the meme villain would be. I got different answers from different sources. But like I said, the readers here who went on my twitter for the polls I posted got the final say. But I will try to have the choices that didn't make get at least some sort of cameo in this Fanfic. Don't forget to follow my Twitter page shown in my bio to participate in future polls that could impact the story.

-Disclaimer-

The following is a non-profit fanfic. Hyperdimention Neptunia is owned by JP Sega, Compile Heart. and Idea Factory. Please support the official release. Also all references and inside jokes from Noble of Lost Pause are owned by their respected owner. Please support this beautiful bastard or else Lily will hunt you down and flay your asses.

-Chapter 17: "A New Villain, or an Old One?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"I'm sorry, but what do you mean you may of "Gave it away."?"

[ Noble ]  
"Well…"

"…"

"You see…"

Noble Pressed his index fingers together. Lily and myself waited intently for him to continue.

[ Noble ]  
"Minutes before seeing Blanc, I … … bumped into … … Rom and Ram?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"…and?..."

[ Noble ]  
"Well, they saw how shiny and pretty the Light Suit DLC was and they wanted to see it."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oh god. Tell me you didn't…"

[ Noble ]  
"Ok, when Rom asks to borrow something of yours with puppy-dog eyes, how can I say no?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well, first you make an audible tone with your vocal cords while you have your tongue pressed to the roof of your mouth . Then while continuing making said audible tone, you form an "O" shape with your lips. THAT'S HOW YOU FUCKIN SAY NO!"

[ Noble ]  
"Oh come on! Rom even dropped the Onii-chan bomb. There was no way I could resist."

My eye twitched again after hearing about his actions. I let out a sigh and then walked past Noble's shoulder and grabbed the back of his collar and began dragging him back to Lowee.

[ Noire ]  
"Uh, what are you doing."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Giving Noble back to Blanc."

[ Noble ]  
"WHAT?!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"If we turn him over now, we could use him as a gift to show our good will and negotiate her to aid our cause to overthrow the fake Nepgear."

[ Noble ]  
"WOAH WOAH WOAH!"

He whacks away my hand and turned to face me.

[ Noble ]  
"Come on. Being weak to anything kawaii is a perfectly acceptable weakness. Not everyone has a heart of brass like you."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I don't have a heart of brass!"

"…"

"I have a heart of copper. Get it right!"

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Um, excuse me…"

While we were having our banter, MarvelousAQL approached us.

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"This Light Suit DLC you two are talking about. Does it look like a silver box with a strange light coming from inside it?"

[ Lily ]  
"Yeah, that would be it."

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Oh! So that's what Rom and Ram handed over to one of the local Dogoos?."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"…"

"…Come again?"

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"Well, after a certain … … someone here volunteered me to distract all the guards of the prison,"

She briefly shoots me a cold look.

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"I managed to spot Rom and Ram doing some sort of trade using this DLC suit with a Dogoo for what looked like a bag of coins. It looked like he headed back in the direction of the World Labyrinth dungeon.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"And pray tell, how big was this Dogoo?"

[ MarvelousAQL ]  
"About the size a Dogoo would be if he was the last boss of a dungeon."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"OF COURSE! We saving the world from some unknown evil is not enough. We had to go on a rescue mission to get Noble. And now on top of that, we have to go get his DLC suit from a boss in a dungeon? I can't stand all these side distractions! I …. Ngh …. GAHHHH!"

I stand upright trembling and my face scrunched up as if I just swallowed a bomb and I was trying to contain the blast in my stomach. Veins visibly pulsed from under my skin and my face turned beat red. Noble and Lily both to a step back from me. After a moment, I let out a sigh, had the color of my face return, and finally relaxed.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…Fine. … Side quest accepted. I will go get the damned Light Suit DLC from this Dogoo boss. Noire, you can come with me. The rest of you stay here."

[ Noire ]  
"Ok, I guess I'll help you with that."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Good, let's get to it then. But I swear, if another layer gets put on this cluster-fuck, I swear I'm gonna…"

[ Falcom ]  
"HELP! We got trouble."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"GOD FUCKIN DAMNIT!"

I screamed as Falcom broke my train of thought by appearing from out of the tree line. She also had CyberConnect2 braced against her while supporting one of her arms over her shoulder. With how they both limped towards us, it looked like they both were in some sort of skirmish.

[ MAGES. ]  
"Wha- What happened to you two?"

[ Falom ]  
"Well, while we were patrolling the area, we were ambushed by some masked man. He took us completely by surprise."

[ CyberConnect2 ]  
"He seemed human, but he was very strong. We stood no chance against him. He said he was a bounty hunter out for the prize set on Noble's head."

[ Noble ]  
"WHAT?!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wow, who would of thought you be able to trigger Blanc this badly."

"…"

"Wait, wasn't Tekken with you two?"

[ Falcom ]  
"Well she was the last of us he engaged. He seemed like she was overpowering her and had her completely at his mercy. But for some reason she told us to run away while she insisted that she could handle it."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"*Sigh* She would."

"…"

"…You know what, I got this one."

[ Noble ]  
"Really?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah, I'll handle this one myself."

[ Lily ]  
"Sure you don't need help?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Nah, I need something to vent all my frustration out on. The moment I get my hands on him, everything within a 50 yard radius will be within the splash zone."

I give somewhat of a sinister grin. Which stopped Noble and Lily from pressing the matter further.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok, where did you last see Tekken fighting this guy?"

[ Falom ]  
"Uh, about a mile in that direction."

I looked in the direction Falcom pointed and stepped off.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"All right then. BRB."

I gave a wave and disappeared into the tree line leaving the others behind. Noble then turned to the CPUs and makers.

[ Noble ]  
"… For the record, him being triggered like that just means he's really committed to this task."

* * *

I walked alone in the woods in the direction Falcom indicated. I crept through the shrubs while muttering aggravated nothings to myself.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"For all that I'm doing here, I better get some time where people leave me the hell alone."

As I was walking, I heard what sounded like the pained moan in the distance. It was Tekken's voice.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"What the hell? Is Tekken being tortured, or pleasured?"

"…"

"Oh who am I kidding? This is Tekken. They're both one in the same to her."

I continue in the direction of the voice of Tekken. Eventually I come to a clearing in the woods. At the center I saw what appeared to me a man with a mask covering his face. I looked down and saw Tekken lying on the ground before him. He had a heel grinding into the side of Tekken's face and she squirmed around beneath his foot. Normally I would stop this in a heartbeat because I would find it malicious. In but these circumstances however, …

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"… Tekken … … what the hell are you doing?"

I got both of their attentions. With his mask, I could not identify who the bounty hunter was.

[ Tekken ]  
"Wait, stay back! This guy is … … is … tough."

Tekken squirmed around under his foot.

[ Tekken ]  
"I can … uuhhhh … handle him. You need not … … ahhh … worry about me."

I squeeze the bridge of my nose and let out a sigh.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"If you say so…"

"…"

"Guess I will … have to find something else to help us out with Plutia."

[ Tekken ]  
"I … Huh what?"

Tekken snapped out of her moment of bliss as if she wasn't fazed by the bounty hunter at all.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah, she became triggered and went into a fit of rage while you were gone."

[ Tekken ]  
"Really?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah. She went HDD and everything and is now threatening to take her anger out on us. I pity the poor soul that she would target in that state. She will deliver unimaginable punishment on whoever she takes her anger out on."

[ Tekken ]  
"Oh. Um, uuuuhhhhh."

Tekken look at the bounty hunter over her, then she grabbed hold of his foot that was on her face and effortlessly lifted it off her. The strength she used sent the man staggering backwards in shock. Tekken then quickly got on her feet and dust herself off as if nothing happened.

[ Tekken ]  
"Um I-I guess I can head back for that. I- I- I mean I'll help calm her down. I best hurry."

Tekken then ran past me into the tree line without looking back. I pinch the bridge of my nose.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Guh, twist my arm more please."

After a second, I finally turned to face down this bounty hunter. His mask covered his face so I couldn't identify who he was.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok asshole, I got better things to do than to deal with dick-wads like you. So I'm giving you ten seconds to tell me your deal before I-…"

It was then that something caught my attention. Noticed there were straps running along his chest that led to his back. I peeked around him and saw what looked like a metallic pack on his back that was all too familiar.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
(Wait, Is … is that a DLC Suit?)

I was speechless for a second. It looked like a DLC Suit, but one that was different from Noble's and mine. The only place that one could get a hold of a DLC Suit would be if they came from our dimension. There were dozens of questions that I wanted to ask him, but I remained focused on my main mission.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Alright, what do you want?"

The bounty hunter squared me up, then pointed at me

[ Bounty Hunter ]  
"I have something …"

"…"

"… for Noble…"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]

"…"

* * *

The others waited patiently for me to return. Before I did, Tekken met up with them. She was disappointed when she discovered that I fed her a little white lie.

[ Tekken ]  
"Awwww."

[ Plutia ]  
"Oh, I'm soooorry. I'm perfectly fine. But I'll be sure to find you the next time I get upset."

[ Tekken ]  
"Ok…. …"

[ Nepgear ]  
"Well, can you at least make sure I'm not trapped in a mirror you are holding?"

While the three were messing around, Noire walked up to Noble and Lily.

[ Noire ]  
"Uh, your friend is gonna be ok right?"

[ Noble ]  
"I'm sure he'll be fine. He is not one that would blindly start a fight when out matched."

Noire thought to herself for a second. Lily took the second to get within whisper range of Noble.

[ Lily ]  
"Hopefully he doesn't get himself into trouble. I mean, he may have a DLC suit, but that guy still took on 3 Makers himself and made them flee."

[ Noble ]  
"I know that, but … …"

Before he could finish, there was the sound of twigs being stepped on coming from the tree line. Everyone was on guard, but it was I who stepped forth. I looked back just to make sure I wasn't followed. The party waited to hear about what transpired.

[ Noble ]  
"Well, don't keep us waiting. What went down?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well he told me to give … you … something, Noble."

[ Noble ]  
"Huh?"

I then revealed that I was holding a small box behind my back. I presented it to Noble. He took a questioning look at me before finally taking it. I motioned him to open it to which he followed. Flipping open the box revealed a small tablet screen. He held it and looked at me.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"He told me that's a tablet that is connected to the live news feed of Lowee. He said he will broadcast a challenge for you to meet him for a fight."

[ Noble ]  
"He'll challenge me on a live Lowee broadcast?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah. He told me it's less work if his target comes to him."

[ Lily ]  
"Chief, you're not really thinking about accepting his challenge are you?"

[ Noble ]  
"Of course not. At least not without the Light Suit DLC. I'm smarter than that at least. And that's all there is that I should know about him, right xxBigPhilxx?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

[ Noble ]  
"Those are bad dot dot dots huh?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Um, well … … you see … … "

I then slowly point at the now empty box in his other hand.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"You might want to take a second look at the box that tablet came in."

The raised an eyebrow at me, then gave the empty box a look over. His attention was drawn to some writing on the top of it.

[ Noble ]  
"Hmmm … This says "Samubento Buyer"… … !"

The writing finally registered in Noble's mind. His face turned pale and his body began to tremble as there was only one person who would have this kind of box in his possession. Noble gave me a look as if he wanted me to deny his fears, but I just nod my head confirming his darkest fears. Noble's legs gave out and ne fell to his knees.

[ Lily ]  
"Chief?!"

It took a moment for him to find the strength to say anything, but he finally was able to speak his mind.

[ Noble ]  
"… I would say "fuck my life" right now, ..."

"…"

"but I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of that in the next few chapters."

-Chapter End-


	18. Chap 18: Surprise

-Author Notes-

 _I know it took a long time for this chapter to come out and it's a little on the shortside. My laptop caught a virus and took a massive dump and I had to cut the length of this chapter to make up for lost time. But I hope you enjoy this chapter regardless._

Chapter 18: "Surprise"

[ Mina ]  
"Um, Lady Blanc, I tried searching the entire Basilicom, but I couldn't find Ram or Rom anywhere."

[ Blanc ]  
"Tch…"

Mina tried again to get Blanc's attention, but she still seemed upset about all the events that transpired.

[ Mina ]  
"Lady Blanc? Um, um…"

"…"

"Don't you think you are over reacting to this situation?"

[ Blanc ]  
"…"

[ Mina ]  
"I mean, … … I know with what happened in Planeptune was bad, but that doesn't mean you have to lash out at everyone that upsets you."

[ Blanc ]  
"…"

[ Mina ]  
"Not only are you the CPU of Lowee, but you are also a CPU of all of Gamindustri. You need to keep your calm for the good of not just your nation, but the whole world too."

[ Blanc ]  
"Mina…"

[ Mina ]  
"I just don't want you to do something you'd regret on top of everything that you have thrown at you right now."

[ Blanc ]  
"Mina … you … you …"

Blanc began to tense up, but after a second she let out a sigh and relaxed with a sorrowful look on her face.

[ Blanc ]  
"You… you're right."

Blanc took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts.

[ Blanc ]  
"With everything that happened between me and the other CPUs, I guess I lost my head and acted drastically towards this one guy."

"…"

"I'll … I'll drop the charges on this guy and let him go."

[ Mina ]  
"Yay, I'm glad you are back to your old self."

[ Blanc ]  
"Yes, but we have a whole lot to do. You didn't happen to see my sisters around during my fit, did you?"

[ Mina ]  
"No, not recently."

[ Blanc ]  
"I see. Well, we will be sure to make sure they are fine later. We need to figure out what to do with the fact that Planeptune came here and took our Shares without me even knowing. After that, we can decide what to do about the other nations. More specifically, Planeptune."

[ Mina ]  
"Of course. We have a lot to do, so we should get started."

With that, Blanc and Mina began to plan how to deal with the situation with the CPUs and the other nations.

* * *

[ Noire ]  
"Sponsorman?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Mmhmm…"

I explained the identity of the bounty hunter to the others as Noble paced around in a panic with Lily trying in vain to calm him down..

[ Noble ]  
"HOW?! WHY?! Why must he cross into this dimension and plague me here? Why why WHYYYYYYY?!"

[ Lily ]  
"Chief! Calm down. You'll pop a blood vessel."

[ Noble ]  
"That is the least of my worries now!"

I left them to their fits as I continued the explanations to the other.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Sponsorman. A man who is hell bent on sapping the free will out of anyone he comes across. He will corrupt their mind and leave them as addicts to the point they eventually become withered, ….. mindless, ….. soulless, … … "

[ Nepgear ]  
"Zombies?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Sellouts."

[ Nepgear ]  
"Oh…"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yup, he will put his merchandise in your face and you will be brainwashed to buy everything he has to offer."

Noble then rushes up to me

[ Noble ]  
"And now he's here trying to finish the job on me! Why must he hunt me here?"

He rushes off again to the side.

[ Falcom ]  
"Well you seem awfully calm. Aren't you not scared of him?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Of course not. I'm a sociopathic anti-social introvert who suffers from Asperger syndrome. I'm immune to becoming a sellout. Though I would think twice about rushing in and throwing down with him."

[ Lily ]  
"Now you are sure he had a DLC suit with him."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"It had all the hallmarks of one. Couldn't tell what kind it was though."

[ Noire ]  
"Well this is a situation we have to take care of I guess. Now what?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"The plan remains the same. We get Noble's DLC suit from those Dogoos and return it to him. I don't know how powerful Sponsorman's DLC suit is, but with both of our DLC suits and Noble's JUSTice water, he shouldn't be too much for us to handle."

[ Plutia ]  
"Then we can get rid of this Sponsorman and make it up to Blanny?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yup, that's the plan. But I learned that all my plans should be subject to change at this point."

[ Noble ]  
"Ok, a good sounding enough plan. The sooner we get my Light Suit DLC back, the sooner we can take care of Sponsorman and … … "

Before he could finish, a chime came from the tablet Sponsorman gave Noble.

[ Noble ]  
"Huh?"

Noble lifted the tablet and looked at the screen. The Lowee news jingle sounded and the logo showed on screen. Lily, Noire, Plutia and myself peaked from behind Noble to see the screen. At first, the logo showed on screen unchanged, then the screen looked as if it glitched out and became static. What popped up next caused everyone's heart to skip a beat.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"SURPRISE, BITCH! YYYYEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH!"


	19. Chap 19: Raising the Stakes

-Author's Notes-

 _Sorry about how the last chapter came out. Computer problems hurt that chapter. Hopefully this chapter makes up for it._

-Chapter 19: "Raising the Stakes"

[ Sponsorman ]  
"SURPRISE, BITCH! YEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Everyone present jumped in surprise as Sponsorman's face and voice boomed from the tablet. Noble yelped and dropped the tablet while taking a few steps back. After a few breaths, he composed himself and picked up the tablet again. Lily, Noire, Plutia and myself proceeded to watch the screen from close behind him.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Guess who's back! Yeah yeah. … …. Yeah yeah yeah yeah! You thought you can just hop dimensions and get away from me? No no nooooo."

[ Noble ]  
"Oh no, he is as diabolical as I remembered."

[ Plutia ]  
"He looks like a creep. But for some reason, he also looks vaguely familiar."

[ Noire ]  
"Either way, It looks like all those cringy things you were saying about him weren't exaggerations after all."

We continued watching. And since this was a live feed on the Lowee broadcast, Blanc and Mina were also watching from within the main chamber of the Basilicom.

[ Blanc ]  
"Oh god. Did I really hire this creeper?"

[ Mina ]  
"Well you did, but it's understandable seeing as you weren't in the right state of mind."

[ Blanc ]  
"Tch, don't remind me. Mina, get in contact with this asshole and tell him that we called off the bounty when you can. And find my sisters when you're finished with that."

[ Mina ]  
"Oh, of course."

They continued to watch the feed from their position. Meanwhile, we were watching the feed from outside the Lowee border.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"But I must admit, chasing you here turned out to be quite the opportunity for me."

As we watch, I took notice of the background. It appeared that he was broadcasting this from the top of a very tall bulding with the city of Lowee below.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Can you imagine all the marketing I would get if I were to spread my sellout plague in this dimension? Yeah yeah yeah. It would be delicious if I could corrupt this whole world and spread my commercialism to all the counsels. All them sellout ads on every game? It would be beautiful! Yeah yeah yeah!"

It was now that Lily took a closer look at the screen and took notice of the straps that were going across Sponsorman's chest. They wrapped around his body and connected to a type of metallic pack on his back.

[ Lily ]  
"Hmm. That's definitely a DLC suit he has, but I can't tell what kind it is."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Huh, aren't you supposed to be the expert on these suits?"

[ Lily ]  
"No. I am only responsible for the ones you two own. I don't have absolute knowledge on all the DLC Suits own by the Vapor Syndicate."

We turned our attention back to the tablet.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"But first thing first. It is you, Noble, that I had my eyes set on from the very VERY beginning. Yeah yeah. You are the key to spreading my influence through our dimension. So now I'm here to officially make you my bottem sellout so I can kill two birds with one stone."

He grinned and fiddled with his glasses with a sinister grin.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"So I'll be waiting here on the tallest building in Lowee's market district. I expect you to come here so you can explain yourself. And when you come here, please do in a very submissive manner. Yeah Yeah. But if you feel like putting up some resistance, well … "

He cracks his knuckles.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"I wouldn't mind making you struggle for a bit. Yeah yeah YEAH!"

Noble finally turns away.

[ Noble ]  
"Oh my god! Will I ever be rid of his plague?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Now now, he's just trying to get you riled up so you would face him when he has the advantage."

[ Lily ]  
"That's right, Chief. He's trying to play mind games with you. If you just ignore him for now, we can focus on getting back the Light Suit DLC and-…"

[ Sponsorman ]  
"But I suggest you hurry here as soon a s possible. Yeah yeah! Because the longer you take, the less I can … uh … uh … well … …"

He then walked up to the camera and then panned it slightly to the left. The camera focus to the edge of the building where there appeared to be a large glowing cage hanging over the edge. And what was inside shocked us to our very core.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"The less I can guarantee the safety of these two. Yeah yeah!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"Wait … … Is that- … Is that Rom and Ram?!"

To our horror it was indeed Rom and Ram who were trapped inside the cage. There was a strange aura emanating from it that appeared to be sapping energy from the two as they protested from inside the cage.

[ Rom ]  
"H-help! Someone help us!"

[ Ram ]  
"You big meanie! Once our sister gets her hands on you, she's gonna … gonna snap you like a twig!"

They said this defiantly inside the cage, but it was clear that they were losing their strength. Sponsorman then put himself back in front of the camera.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Now me personally, I would be very hurt if harm would come to these lovely candidates. Yeah. Their whole bipolar twin trope would bring a great deal of that "moe" factor to my hostile takeover slash marketing campaign . Of course you wouldn't let happen would you, my goodie-two-shoed senpai? Yeah yeah. So, you know where to find me-."

He brings his face up close to the camera at an uncomfortable level.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"So I'll be waiting."

Then the feed was disconnected from the tablet. We were gathering what we just witnessed, then the feed came back on with Sponsorman's sadistic face and voice again.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Oh and bring money! Yeah yeah YEEEAAAAH!"

With a double snap and point from Sponsorman, the feed was finally cut and we were left with our thoughts in silence.

* * *

In the Lowee Basilicom, Blanc and Mina were left in almost a state of shock after seeing Sponsorman's live feed on the Balilicom's main chamber's news monitor. Blanc was speechless, but her hands were shaking furiously.

[ Mina ]  
"That's-… that's horrible! How could that man be so heartless as to kidnap the candidates and-?..."

Before she could finish, Blanc slammed her fist down on the arm rest of her seat. She was visibly trembling as she was fighting to keep her cool … … and losing.

[ Mina ]  
"Uh, Lady Blanc?"

Blanc took a deep breath before she responds.

[ Blanc ]  
"Mina, I trust there will be no arguments if I were to personally go there, rescue my sisters,-"

"…"

"AND SKIN THAT BASTARD ALIVE IN THE PROCESS, RIGHT?!"

[ Mina ]  
"What?! N-no! What he did to the candidates is absolutely unforgivable, but-"

[ Blanc ]  
"Good! Bashing someone's skull is just what I need to help clear my mind. And now I have the perfect opportunity to be in the right when I do. And I am damn sure gonna take it."

She stood up, reached out an open hand, and manifested her hammer which she gripped immediately.

[ Blanc ]  
"I'm gonna obliterate that a-… wha?!"

The moment she gripped her hammer, she stumbled as the weight of her own hammer threw her off balance. She steadied herself, but she had to put extra effort in lifting her weapon.

[ Mina ]  
"B-Blanc?"

[ Blanc ]  
"I'm fine!"

Blanc takes a deep breath and recollects herself.

[ Blanc ]  
"I will return with my sisters shortly."

With that, she stormed out of the main chamber while trying to hide the fact that her weapon seems heavier than what she is used to it being.

[ Mina ]  
"Blanc…"  
(Oh no. Lowee's Shares being taken by Planeptune must of weaken Blanc more than I expected. I hope she can manage herself being in this weakened state.)

* * *

Noble, Lily, the rest of our party and myself took a second to process what it was we just saw.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ok, um… …. This … this is an issue."

[ Falcom ]  
"An issue?! That psycho kidnapped the candidates of Lowee."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I bloody know! He wants to bait us into going after him while we are at a disadvantage. All we gotta do is keep our calm and handle this rationally. Right, Noble … … Noble?"

I glanced over at Noble who was facing away from us. His head was hanging down and I saw his fist clenched and trembled. He then turned towards us with a look of determination in his eyes.

[ Noble ]  
"I-I have to go there and meet him."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"WITH WHAT?! Your wallet? You might as well just go there and say "Shut up and take my money … … and my fuckin soul!"?"

[ Noble ]  
"And what do you expect us to do? Sit here and do nothing as he has his way with Rom and Ram?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Of course not. I could go there myself and I MIGHT be able to shred him three ways to Sunday. But at the same time, I MIGHT ALSO get my ass ripped off by him since we don't know the capabilities of his DLC Suit. Hell, he beat three of our makers already. And I don't think the CPUs on our side can do anything too extreme like taking on Sponsorman."

"…"

"No offence."

[ Plutia ]  
"None taken."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…Anyway, I'd rather go there and face him when we have all the good cards. Right now, … … you can't do jack … …, but with you Light Suit DLC, as well as the buff you can apply to it, there's no doubt that we would totally wreck him. Wouldn't you rather face him if you knew that victory is an absolute guarantee?"

Noble turned away still trembling, but I could tell he was weighing the options. He turned back to me and look as about he was going to say something that he really didn't want to say.

[ Noble ]  
"You're … you're right. It's better if I wait here until you bring back my DLC Suit."

He said this hesitantly. Noble then walked away and began to pace back and forth looking uncomfortable. I didn't have that much confidence in his response, but I figured it was best to let him be for now.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"*sigh* Oi, Lily! Do you have a tool that could track the Light Suit DLC?"

[ Lily ]  
"Huh? Oh, yes I do. One sec."

She reached into her endless tool box and pulled out a device with an antenna coming out of it. She held it towards me, but instead of taking the tracker, I took her whole wrist and pulled her in closer to me.

[ Lily ]  
"Wha-what?"

I took another glance over at Noble, then turned back to Lily as I got within whisper range of her fox ears.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"Make absolutely sure he doesn't leave."

[ Lily ]  
"Uh, uh, OK…"

Whispering in that octave seem to properly display how serious I was. I took the tracking devise and stepped away from Lily

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Alright, Noire. You ready to set off?"

[ Noire ]  
"Yeah. I need to take a break from the awkwardness here."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Good!"

I reached around and activated my Shadow Suit DLC. Once I was fully incased in it, I turned Noire who in turn nodded and activated her HDD form. When we were done, we turned to the others.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Alright, BRB in a few. Don't do anything rash while we are away."

With that I activated the thrusters in my shoes and flew with Noire in the direction the tracker was telling us to go.


	20. Chap 20: Getting the Light Suit DLC Bac

-Author's Notes-

 _Wow, I got this chapter up in time for Noble hitting 1 million sups on his channel. Give that beautiful sonava gun a booty slap._

-Disclaimer-

 _The following is a non-profit fanfic. Hyperdimention Neptunia is owned by JP Sega, Compile Heart. and Idea Factory. Please support the official release. Also Noble MaiBigButt, Lily, and all references and inside jokes from Noble of Lost Pause are owned by their respected owner. Please support this beautiful bastard or else Lily will hunt you down and flay your asses._

Chapter 20: "Getting the Light Suit DLC back.

It's been a few minutes since Noire and myself left Noble and the others. Falcom, Cyberconnect2 and Tekken tended to their minor wounds at the hands of Sponsorman earlier. Pluita sat under the tree rocking the mirror that held Nepgear back and forth, much to Nepgear's dismay, as MAGES. watch from over her shoulder. Meanwhile, Noble anxiously paced back and forth as Lily tried to calm him down.

[ Noble ]  
"Oh gawd, the thought of what that sick and twisted bastard is gonna do to those pure and innocent lolis is driving me crazy! It's just … … it's just… …"

[ Lily ]  
"Calm down, Chief. I'm sure xxBigPhilxx and Noire will be done their thing and they will bring back your DLC suit and we can get rid of him."

[ Noble ]  
"So what, we just keep waiting here as he has his way with them? Besides, YOU are naturally the O.P. one of the party. Don't you think you can mess him up?"

Lily took a moment to think about this.

[ Lily ]  
"Well, he did take on 3 Makers single handedly. Even I have to be cautious on how to deal with anyone who can do that."

[ Noble ]  
"Oh come on! I mean, all he wants is me. If I turn myself over to his mercy,…

[ Lily ]  
"Out of the question, Chief. Now just sit tight!"

[ Noble ]  
"Fine."

Noble with a sigh stepped off to the side and looked away while contemplating about the situation anxiously. Lily thought it would be best to let him be for now and decided to check on Plutia, MAGES., and Nepgear.

[ MAGES. ]  
"Noble seems to be extremely on edge. Is this Sponsorman really that much of a nuisance?"

[ Lily ]  
"Yeah. There is really no one that he wouldn't try to plague."

[ Nepgear ]  
"He does seem scary. Has he tried to corrupt you?"

[ Lily ]  
"He did. He tried to seduce me with the promise of bishies. An endless … supply of … bishies. …"

Lily begins to drool slightly and her eyes go blank as she zones out.

[ Lily ]  
"Mounds … and mounds … of bishies. Bishie cardboard cut-outs, bishie figurines, and bishie body pillows. … … Well-cut muscles, pro-tag hair of all sorts, … oiled bishies, and even some … bishie-on-bishie merchandise. …. … It was so glorious! So-… so-… … "  
"…"

"…"

Lily went quiet as she seemed to completely zone out, but soon she snapped out of it and shook her head.

[ Lily ]  
"I'm sorry, what were we talking about again?"

Plutia, MAGES., and Nepgear are looked at Lily with a puzzled and concerned look.

[ Nepgear ]  
"Ummm…"

[ Lily ]  
"Uh … Oh *Ahem* That's right."

She pointed to the mirror that held Nepgear in the hands of Plutia

[ Lily ]  
"The magical properties of that mirror. *Ahem* MAGES., can you tell us anything about that magic mirror with your experience in the magical arts?..."

MAGES. gave her a look knowing that Lily was forcefully trying to change the subject from what happened earlier, but she gave a sigh and answered her question.

[ MAGES. ]  
"Well, I'm unfamiliar with the type of magic that powers this mirror. It appears to be dark in nature and a more ancient type of magic. I'm afraid I don't have the knowledge to reverse this."

[ Lily ]  
"I'm in the same boat. I'm well versed in magic myself, but I have no idea how to get Nepgear out of that mirror."

[ Nepgear ]  
"Aww, I guess I'm stuck in here for a while, huh?"

[ Plutia ]  
"Weeeeeelllllll, I guess we'll have to wait for Noire and xxBigPhilxx to get baaaaaaack with that DLC Suit for Noble. Then he'll be able to deal with this Sponsormaaaaaaan guy and we can continue meeting up with the other CPUs aaaaaaaaand he's gone!"  
"…"

"…"

[ Lily ]  
"…"

"Huh?"

[ Plutia ]  
"He's gone. Noble's gone."

[ Lily ]  
"…"

"…"  
"Wait WHAT?!"

Lily turned to where she left Noble alone and sure enough, the spot was barren and Noble was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

Elsewhere, Noire and myself continued to fly in the direction that Lily's tracker was leading us.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Alright, we are about another 3 miles away. Hopefully we can catch those Dogoos before they make it back to their dungeon and we have to add a raid to the list of things to do."

[ Black Heart ]  
"Gee, you sure are putting a lot of faith into this. Will Noble having this Light Suit DLC really make a difference?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"It better with all the work I'm putting into getting it back."

I sigh to myself.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Grr, it's times like these that I wish Misteam just left me alone and didn't suggest I joined the syndicate. Hell, I could have been back at my apartment where I would be all by myself to slip into my personal abyss of madness. Is that too much to ask for? Because compared to where the fuck all this got me, that route is looking pretty good right now."

[ Black Heart ]  
"Wait, are you talking to me or yourself?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"I'm talking to me of course! Because, unfortunately, I am a very good listener. Everything someone talks, I take it in perfectly. So in order to keep the pointless crap out, I make it my duty to talk to myself to drown out the white noise people spew from their mouths."

[ Black Heart ]  
"Uhhh…"

Just then, Lily's tracking devise bleeped. I looked down to where it pointed and saw a traveling party of Dogoos that were led by an even larger Dogoo.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"There they are!"

[ Black Heart ]  
"Wait, why is the big one glowing like that."

I took notice of what Noire pointed out and sure enough, there was a yellow radiant glow that came from within the large Dogoo.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Wait, did he-? Oh my god… HE ATE THE DAMN THING? We got to get down there like yesterday."

I made a nose dive from the sky with my Shadow Suit DLC. I landed in the standard super hero fashion while Noire landed in her typical graceful manner behind the troop.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"OI!"

I shouted and it got the army of the lesser dogoo's attention. At the front, the greater dogoo turned to face me while glowing with a radiant aura that came from swallowing the Light Suit DLC.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"You sir have something that belongs to us. If you don't chuck it over, I will rip you appart and dig it out of ya! If you do hand it over to us willingly, … … than I'll rip you apart regardless because I'm that triggered right now."

[ Black Heart ]  
"Wow. … Ever the charmer, aren't you?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Hey, I gave him an option, didn't I?"

There was a short pause, then the giant Dogoo began to chuckle.

[ Dogoo King ]  
"Kuh kuh kuh! So you think you can oppose me, Dogoo? You must not know how powerful I truly am now, Dogoo."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Is he doing the whole saying his name trope ? He's really doing the saying his name trope. …"

[ Dogoo King ]  
"You see, Dogoo, you are not facing an ordinary Dogoo. I have ascended and became legend. I have become … … A SUPER DOGOO!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Aaaaand he just went there. He's dead. He's fucking dead. Imma kill him so hard, they're gonna have to make a new rating that's a step up from M because of what I'm about to do to his ass."

[ Black Heart ]  
"Hmph, allow me. I have pent up aggression due to these species of monsters. I think I lead the attack this time."

She stretched out an open hand and manifested her short sword and gripped it.

[ Dogoo King ]  
"So you wish to face my power and my army, Dogoo? Minions, destroy them, Dogoo!"

Noire gave a battle cry and charged the lesser dogoos. They in turn moved in to intercept and overwhelm her.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Whelp, better get in there and give her a hand."

My Shadow Suit powered up and I activated my plasma blades. I took a quick look at Noire, and then a quick look at the dogoos. … … Then I took a second look at Noire, and then a second look at the dogoos.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"…"

"On second thought, this might turn out hot."

I recalled my facemask, opened my inventory, pulled out a bag of popcorn, and began to eat it contents as I watch Noire.

Noire started doing work on the waves of dogoos. She handled a couple very well with only a slight loss of breath.

[ Dogoo King ]  
"Grr. Everyone, attack Dogoo!"

[ Black Heart ]  
"Hmph, come on!"

Then about a dozen Dogoos charged at her all at once. She put up her defenses and repelled a majority of them, but one got behind her and jumped on her back.

[ Black Heart ]  
"Wha-?"

The dogoo clung to her and began to drip its slime onto her body. While Noire struggles to shake off the one, the other dogoos lunged at her as well. She tried to cut them down, but was soon overwhelmed. A few dogoos got a good hold on her as their slimy bodies began to smother her. With one final effort, she unleashed a flurry of slashes that knocked away all of the dogoos. She then collapsed to her knees covered in slime and her clothes torn. Her HDD form finally gave out and she reverted back to her human form. She sat on the ground defenseless covered in slime and holding her torn outfit to her to prevent from being exposed. She gritted her teeth as the Dogoo king laughed at the sight.

[ Dogoo King ]  
"WAHAHAHA! I defeated a CPU, Dogoo!"

It was at this time that I finished off the last of the popcorn. I held the bag upside down as I shook it. Then I crumpled it up and tossed it over my shoulder.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Bored now. Time for me to end this."

I activated my face mask and casually walked up to the lines of dogoos ready to fight while wearing my DLC Suit. I stood before them and they all looked up at me. I waited for them to make the first move, but no attack came. The dogoos then began to grow hesitant.

[ Dogoo King ]  
"Wha-what are you all waiting for? Destroy him, dogoo!"

His minions didn't react to his words and just stood their uneasy. I glanced over them from left to right, then I focused on the Dogoo king. I then began to casually stroll through the lesser dogoos and walked straight for the King. The dogoos slid out of my path with confused and a slight look of fear in their eyes allowing me to walk normally without resistance. After a short while, I stood before the King himself.

[ Dogoo King ]  
"You-…YOU! How dare you, dogoo! I'll destroy you myself."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"This is an RPG battle system. So … … your move, creep."

The Dogoo king went into a rage as the aura from the Light Suit DLC surged from within him.

[ Dogoo King ]  
"You dare defy me, dogoo? A god among mortals and dogoos, dogoo? I'll squash you! I'll crush you, dogoo. I'll- … … I'LL-… …!"

His face soon faded from a look of rage, to one of hesitation, and then to borderline panic.

[ Dogoo King ]  
"I- … I- … I- … "

"…"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO, DOGOO!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Thought so…"

Immediately, I gripped my dual plasma blades, activated the thrusters at the bottom of my feet and lunged at the Dogoo king. My dash was almost instant and the only trace of my attack came in the form of flashes of light. The Dogoo King was instantly ripped apart and what was left of him disintegrated into digital dust. After that, a small pack that was the condensed stand-by mode of the Light Suit DLC flew up in in the air from the corpse. I put away my plasma blades, held a hand up and caught the DLC suit on its way down without looking.

[ Lesser Dogoo A ]  
"AAHH! He killed the Dogoo King, dogoo."

[ lesser Dogoo B ]  
"EEEEP! Run, dogoo! Run for your dogoo lives, dogoo."

With that, all the lesser dogoos gave out a paniced yell and ran off into the tree line. I gave the Light Suit DLC pack a quick look over, then I shook all the slime off it.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Aw damn it. I forgot to say, "ULTRA CYCLONIC BLADE" during my attack. I'm such a bad anime protag."

After making sure there wasn't too much damage to the Light Suit DLC, I turned around to face Noire. She was still covered in slime and trying to hold her clothing together to prevent it from falling of her private areas. But for the most part, she was fine.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oi, you OK?"

[ Noire ]  
"Wha-wha- WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oh, you know. Just me getting this Light Suit DLC Suit back."

[ Noire ]  
"Well I know that, but why the hell did none of them even try to attack you?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well they're … … dogoos. Slime creatures whose sole purpose is to inflicted attacks for the sake of nothing more than fanservice."

[ Noire ]  
"What?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well, I'm a … … guy. It's pretty much taboo in this dimension to have dudes commit to the fanservice. Hence, I was basically immuned to them."

[ Noire ]  
"HUH?! Then … why was I needed here at all?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well … … fanservice needed to get in here somehow regardless sooooo, …. …. Yeah."

She gave me a contorted pissed off look that said, "I hate you, but that was well played." After our chat, my ear piece ringed.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Huh? Someone's trying to call me."

I activated it from within my helmet to speak with who was on the other end.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Oi?"

[ Lily ]  
"…"

"xxBigPhilxx?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ah, Lily! I was about to call you. I got some good news. I was able to retrieve Noble's Light Suit DLC pack."

[ Lily ]  
"Well that's … excellent. Because you see, I'm about to supply the … … bad news."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"Go on."

[ Lily ]  
"Well, remember when you told me to make sure that Noble doesn't leave."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah?"

[ Lily ]  
"He left."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"…"

I disconnected the call, took a deep breath, and turned back to Noire.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Whelp, looks like our good friend Noble went ahead and decided to confront Sposorman with nothing more than plot armor. … … WHICH IS NOTHING MORE BUT A FUCKIN' MYTH BY THE WAY!"

[ Noire ]  
"What? He did?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yeah…"

I looked at the digital display on my wrist to see the stats of the Shadow Suit DLC.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"And by my calculations, I only have enough power left to just get there from here. Not enough to actually help Noble should he recklessly take on Sponsorman."

[ Noire ]  
"Well, that sounds bad."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Right. Hopefully I can get there, pass him his DLC Suit, and he can take care of the rest. In the meantime, pull yourself together and head back to meet up with Plutia, Lily and the Makers. Meet up with us in Lowee when you can."

I turned, activated the thrusters on my feet, and began to fly towards Lowee with the Light Suit DLC as fast as my DLC suit could go.

[ Noire ]  
"Alright. Just … leave me here … half naked … covered in slime. You have no idea how lucky you are to be able to see this much atleast."

She said not caring that I was already out of ear-shot.

\- Chapter End -

-Author's Note –

 _Thanks for sticking with the fanfic so far. It might be a while for the next chapter due to some personal things I'm working out. I also am trying to work on some fan art to help with visuals of characters as well as the DLC Suits. Also, if you are reading and happen to see spelling, punctuation, grammar, ect. Errors, feel free to message me here or on my twitter. I am a bit scattered brained and my attention span is pathetic. So any help with this would be appreciated. One again, grats to that beautiful bastard on the 1 mill subs. K THX BYE!_


	21. Chap 21: Some Extreme Loli-Gaggin

-Disclaimer-

 _The following is a non-profit fanfic. Hyperdimention Neptunia is owned by JP Sega, Compile Heart. and Idea Factory. Please support the official release. Also all references and inside jokes from Noble of Lost Pause are owned by their respected owner. Please support this beautiful bastard or else Lily will hunt you down and flay your asses._

Chapter 21: Some Extreme Loli-gaggin.

On the roof of the tallest building in the Lowee Market District, Sponsorman still held both Rom and Ram hostage in a cage that hung over the edge of the building. He casually counted a bundle of bills with his specialized DLC Suit strapped securely to his back as he lazily leaned on the lever that held the cage up.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Money money mooooonnneeeeyyyy! YEAH! Cash money! Yeah yeah YEAH! Cash money and the souls of sellouts. Yeah yeah yeah!"

As Sponsorman was occupied, Rom and Ram struggled to break free of the cage with was still gradually draining their strength.

[ Rom ]  
"*Pant Pant* I-I don't know how much longer I can resist."

[ Ram ]  
"Hey, Creep, if you don't let us out of here, our sister is going to be very pissed off at you. So if you don't want her hammer crushing your skull, I suggest you-…"

Sponsorman gave a very annoyed sigh. At the peak of his breath, he purposefully jerked his arm that was leaning on the lever and caused it to shift. This caused the cage containing Rom and Ram to suddenly start to drop.

[ Rom and Ram ]  
"EEEKKK!"

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Wwwwoops!"

He tugged the lever back in place and stop the cage from dropping. It was only a drop of a few inches, but it was enough to shake up the two Candidates.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"So sorry. I tend to spasm when I hear annoying voices. Yeah yeah! But seriously,… "

Sponsorman walked up to them with a thirsty look in his eyes.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"If you only knew all the possibilities that I can give you. Yeah! Having you two as the face of my cross dimensional marketing campaign will bring in 10 times the money that before. Flabby otakus will eat all the merchandise that has your faces slapped on it. Yeah yeah!"

His look goes sinister.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"But of course, should a high roller decides they want to pay to "lewd the lolis" per say , then-"

Before he could finish, the sound of a loud bang rung across the roof top. Sponsorman and the twins turned to the source of the sound which came from the far side of the roof where the door to the stairwell stood. It was slammed open and in the doorway stood Blanc. She was breathing heavily and sweating, but still gave Sponsorman a death stare as she gripped her giant mallet.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Well well! It looks like the CPU of Lowee decided to honor me by greeting me personally."

Blanc continued to catch her breath.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"But I must say, you look a little winded right now. Did you run a marathon to get here?"

[ Blanc ]  
"You … you bastard! After I offer you a job, you repay me by kidnapping my sisters? You can forget about that bounty."

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Bounty? Oh that. I really didn't care about you paying me. Yeah yeah yeah! It was Noble himself that I was really after. Yeah! Getting paid for it was just a perk."

[ Blanc ]  
"Tch! Well all that is the least of your problems now. What you should be worried about is how brutally I am going to kill you. And it's going to be a whole lot due to that familiar face of yours."

Blanc readied a combat stance.

[ Blanc ]  
(Crap! I'm definitely weaker since Lowee got a good portion of its Shares stolen, but I still got enough power to crush his ass-hole.)

She reeled back then leaped at Sponsorman.

[ Blanc ]  
"I'LL OBLITERATE YOU IN ONE SHOT! GYYAAAAHHH!"

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Oh?!"

She quickly brought her hammer down on to where Sponsorman was standing. The ground erupted in a pillar of dust and debris that covered the area around Blanc's weapon. There was a moment where no one could see how effective Blanc's attack was due to the obstructed view.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"… Now I hope I don't offend you,…"

[ Blanc ]  
"WHA-?!"

As the dust settled, it was revealed that Sponsorman was casually perched on the back side of Blanc's hammer that's still in the ground. He adjusted his glasses and gave a cheeky grin to Blanc.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"But that attack was a bit … … unimpressive from my point of view. Yeahyeah!"

[ Blanc ]  
"Grr!"

She lifted her hammer out of the ground as Sponsorman effortlessly backflipped off it. When he landed, Blanc wasted no time in following up with a flurry of swings, but Sponsorman evaded around each swing in an almost slithering style. Blanc tried to end her barrage with one last swing of her hammer, but Sponsorman slithered away.

[ Sposorman ]  
"Oh yeah, yeah, yeahyeahyeahyeah!"

Blanc paused with a look of rage and frustration in her eyes. In a last ditch effort, she slammed her hammer into the ground which sent a shockwave towards Sponsorman. He responed with a simple hop to evade the quake as it shook the roof and caused the cage that held Rom and Ram. They gave a yelp as they swayed which stopped Blanc in her tracks. Sponsorman then landed, brushed off his shoulder and gave Blanc a cheeky grin.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Yeahyeah YEEEAAAHHHH! I must say, I'm rather disappointed in your performance. And I'm usually a fan of lolis who's temper matches their chest size too."

[ Blanc ]  
"!"

Almost before he finished his sentence, Blanc arches back and an eruption of white digital energy consumed her.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Oh myyyyyy…"

He gave a nonchalant reaction. When the light settled, the figure of Blanc in her HDD form stood before him. She gripped her giant ax with a look of demonic rage in her eyes.

[ White Heart ]  
"YOU WANTED TO PULL ALL MY TRIGGERES? WELL YOU SURE AS HELL SUCCEEDED! GET READY TO DIE, ASS-HOLE!"

She wound up her ax over her shoulder, then swung it around her body with great force.

[ White Heart ]  
"TANZERIN TROMBE!"

Her ax flew around her like a cyclone as she aimed directly at Sponcerman. But even with plenty of time to move out of the way, Sponsorman kept a cool look on his face as he stood there with his hands resting on the back of his head.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"…meh…"

Just before Blanc's attack made contact, he moved one of his hands in front of him to intercept her attack. Surprisingly, this was all that was needed to stop her attack dead.

[ White Heart ]  
"WHAT?"

On closer inspection, Sponsorman didn't stop it with his bare hand, but his hand was incased in a kind of technological metallic glove. Soon, metallic tendrils spread from both his gauntlet and the DLC pack on his back. It soon incased his entire body in was look like a black metal suit with a face plate that resembled a gas mask.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Yeah yeah yeah! Now it's a party!"

With barely any effort, he tossed away Blancs ax and Blanc herself with one hand. Blanc landed and a look of surprise and confusion shown from her face.

[ White Heart ]  
"Wha-What the hell is that?"

Sponsorman held out his arms to get a feel for the DLC Suit and flexed a little.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"This? This is what you call the Leech Suit DLC."

Small sparks of energy jolted from the suit.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Normally in order to drain a person of life and energy, I would have to expose them to irresistible merchandise until they become mindless sellouts. This suit on the other hand, takes all that hassle out and I am able to sap the energy and life out of people directly."

Sponsorman held up a hand. On the back side of his hand was a glowing gem at the center.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Like so…"

He pulled his fist and the gem glowed more intense and a vortex swirled around it. When it did, Blanc looked as if she was being pulled towards him as energy was being forcefully ripped from her and absorbed into the gem. Sponsorman then turned his palm to Blanc and shot an energy beam out of it. The blast knocked Blanc back into a wall helplessly.

[ White Heart ]  
"Gah. Wha?"

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Yeah yeah yeah! I know! It's super effective."

Blanc gritted her teeth in pain, but soon got back on her feet and charged at Sponsorman again. He sidesteps out of the way effortlessly. Blanc then tried to follow up with a flurry of swings to which he dodged them again. He then activated thrusters on his back and took himself to the air where he charged energy balls in his hands and threw them at Blanc below. She dodged the two blasts, but sponsorman followed up by activating the gem in the back of his hands to create a vortex that stunned and sapped Blanc. Sponsorman fired a third energy ball at Blanc which was a direct hit that knocked her down. After struggling to get back to her feet, Blanc retaliated by flying up to pursue Sponsorman in the Air. She tried to hit him with several swings of her ax, but Sponsorman merely hops over each blow. He finally flips and curls up and launches both of his feet into Blanc's torso. This sent her back to the ground with a hard impact. He slowly levitates down to the ground and stood casually. When the dust of Blanc's fall clears, Blanc is seen trying to get back to her feet using her ax as a cane. Her whole body shakes in pain.

[ White Heart ]  
"You… YOU… … bast-…"

She had the look of pure rage and sought to unleash it all on Sponsorman who stood before her in a cocky posture. But with one final breath, she toppled over to the ground with all of her energy spent. She was covered in a digital light and reverted back to her human form lying on the ground.

[ Ram ]  
"BLANC!"

[ Rom ]  
"Big … … Sister?..."

Blanc only had the strength to shoot Sponsorman an angry and defiant glare as she laid helpless on the ground before him.

[ Blanc ]  
"*Pant pant* You… *Pant pant* Damn … you …"

Sponsorman then threw his hands up victoriously.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Well now, this has turned out to profitable day for me! Yeah yeah yeah! Seeing as I bought down it's nation's CPUs, I pretty much run Lowee now huh? The marketing potential of this city is just down right orgasmic. Yeahyeahyeahyeah! The only thing that could make this day better would be-…"

[ Noble ]  
"SPONSORMAAAAAN!"

The cry rang out over the roof top and caused everyone present to turn to the latter-well that led off the roof top. There, it was Noble himself who was peeking his head over the side of the roof after an intense climb up the latter. With one hop, he came over the edge and planted his feet on the roof and stood before Sponsor man who was still standing casually.

[ Noble ]  
"You wanted me, Sponsorman?"

Noble pulled out his two pairs of nunchaku out of his belt, gave them an intense swing, then readied a determined combat stance.

[ Noble ]  
"You got me!"

-Chapter end-


	22. Chap 22: Noble Goes Even Further

-Author's Notes-

To keep up to date with chapters, some fan art, and other stuff I'll be doing, do follow my twitter page on my author's bio page.

-Disclaimer-

 _The following is a non-profit fanfic. Hyperdimention Neptunia is owned by JP Sega, Compile Heart. and Idea Factory. Please support the official release. Also, Noble MaiBigButt, Lily, and all references and inside jokes from Noble of Lost Pause are owned by their respected owner. Please support this beautiful bastard or else Lily will hunt you down and flay your asses._

Chapter 22: "Noble Goes … Even … … Further"

Five people were present on the roof top of the highest building of the market district in Lowee. Two of the people are Ram and Rom who were still trapped in a cage that was draining their strength. Another one was Blanc who sat on the ground crippled from a fight moments before. Another person was Sponsorman who stood confidently within his personal DLC Suit. And the final person person was Noble who recently arrived prepared for a fight despite being under equipped. There was a quiet pause between everyone during the tense standoff, but then the silence was broken as Sponsorman began to chuckle.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Heh, hehe, HA HA HA HAAA! I can't believe you actually showed! Yeah yeah!"

[ Noble ]  
"Grr…"

[ Sponsorman ]  
"And all by yourself too. No DLC Suit, no power ups, and no friends. YeahyeahyeahyeahYEAH! Just that bottle of JUSTice water you can't do jack shit with without the DLC suit to go with it."

Sponsorman looks around confirming that Noble came alone.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"I guess being an anime protag for so long has gone to your head."

[ Noble ]  
"Sponsorman! You seek pleasure in making everyone you meet into your mindless sellouts. To a degree, there was charm to the amount of cringe you would bring into my life. But this…"

Noble looked around the rooftop at the damage done.

[ Noble ]  
"But this is way too extreme. Even for you."

[ Sponsorman ]  
"You got that right. Yeah yeah! That's where the fun is. Yeahyeahyeah! Now what will it be, Maibigbutt? You can go ahead and surrender quietly and submit yourself to being my bottom sellout. But if you feel like putting up a fight, well…"

Sponsorman cracks his knuckles.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"I rather enjoy watching you struggle to resist me. Yeah yeah yeah YEAH!"

Noble visibly cringed at Sponsorman's words, but he remembered the others that were present on the roof. He glanced over at Rom and Ram still trapped in the cage. Then his attention ended on Blanc who was sitting on the ground holding one of her arms. He held up open hands to Blanc.

[ Noble ]  
"N-n-n-now, Blanc. I know that I dropped a huge ball our first meeting, but I just want to say I'm here now to help you and your sisters to the best of my abilities.

Blanc gave an annoyed sigh.

[ Blanc ]  
"The only solace I'm getting out this is that at least one of you is getting their ass kicked."

[ Noble ]  
"Heh heh… …. Heh…"

Noble gave a cheeky chuckle with a foolish looking face. But a second later, he took a deep breath, regained his composure, then focus on Sponsorman with a serious look in his eyes.

[ Noble ]  
"Alright, Sponsorman. I'm giving you one chance to stop this madness."

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Yeah yeah? And if I refuse."

Noble grunted and gripped his nunchaku

[ Noble ]  
"Then I'll make YOU pay this time!"

Noble attempted to blitz Sponsorman while brandishing his nunchaku.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Oh?"

The moment Noble reached halfway to Sponsorman, he leaped in the air and brought his nunchaku down on top of Sponsorman's head hard. He then followed up with a flurry of strikes to the sides of his heads. Then finally, Noble ended with a heavy blow to where Sponsormans jaw would be under his face mask. To Noble's credit, any ordinary man would have been lying on the ground with his face shattered and left coughing up his own blood and teeth. But this case…

[ Sponsorman ]  
"…"

"…Well…"

[ Noble ]  
"*Gasp!*"

[ Sponsorman ]  
"That was anti-climatic. Yeahyeah!"

Sponsorman then held out his palm and blasted Noble away with an energy wave. Noble tumbled along the ground away from the blast. He looked up at the last second to see Sponsorman leaping in the air at him. Noble dodged at the last second and avoided a punch from Sponsorman that rattled the roof top.

[ Noble ]  
"I'll stop you!"

He tried to attack Sponsorman while his back was turned, but it was utterly ineffective due to Sponsorman's DLC Suit.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Yeah yeah!"

Sponsorman spun around and back handed Noble away again. Noble looked up to see energy blast being shot at him from Sponsorman's palm. Noble ran to avoid the volleys of blasts, but Sponsorman activated his rockets on his back and blitz Noble and delivered a powerful tackle that knocked Noble off his feet. The fight turned to an ugly game of cat and mouse.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Yeahyeahyeah! I love how they struggle as I break 'em."

[ Noble ]  
"Grrr…"

Noble tried to blitz Sponsorman while he was distracted, but Sponsorman noticed him at the last second.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Op! Hold it!"

Sponsorman showed Noble the back of his hand where his sapping gem was held and activated it in Nobles face. It began to drain energy from Noble which made him fall to his knees. Noble struggled to stay upright.

[ Noble ]  
"YOU!... … you… "

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Yeah! Yeah! YeahyeahyeahYEAH! It's been a good day! Once I finish breaking and corrupting you, I'll send you back to our dimension where you will sponsor all of my merchandise to all ends of the globe. Yeah yeah! Meanwhile…"

He turns back to Blanc and her sisters.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"I will remain here and use these lovely ladies to take over Lowee. And then, my influence and corruption will spread through all of Gameindustri. Yeah YEAH! I will be filthy rich!"

Blanc could only grit her teeth in defiance. Noble looked over to Blanc, Rom and Ram. Then he looked back at Sponsorman and clenched his fist.

[ Noble ]  
"I … won't … … LET YOU!"

With what little energy he had, Noble tried to deliver his strongest punch to Sponsorman's gut. But due to Sponsorman being inside his DLC Suit, he didn't even budge and Noble ended up more hurt than his target from the attack.

[ Noble ]  
"…"

[ Sponsorman ]  
"*Sigh*"

Sponsorman kicked away Noble who tumbled along the ground.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Seriously, just give up and take it. No one can save you now. Not even the greatest plot convenience can stop-."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"mine mine mine MINE MINE MIIIIIIIINE!"

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Wha?!"

Sponsorman was surprised by my voice as I dropped from the sky. Before he could react, I landed a kick to his lower back which knocked him away. However, this action would use up the last of my Suits power as I burned up most of it trying to get here as fast as I could. My Shadow Suit deactivated and began to retract to its pack form on my back. The arm that held the Light Suit DLC pack was last to retract, but before it went, I gripped the DLC pack and faced Noble.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"NOBLE!"

After I made sure I got Noble's attention, I threw the DLC Suit pack at Noble before my Suit fully retracted. The moment I was exposed, Sponsorman hit me with an energy blast that knocked me off mu feet.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"You pesky-… … *Gasp*!"

Sponsorman quickly looked back to Noble just in time to see him holding the DLC Suit pack and quickly flipped the switch.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"NOO!"

The moment Noble flipped the switch, the DLC pack began to expand and metallic tendrils began to wrap around Noble. First his arms were incased, then his chest, and finally it wrapped his lower body in a silver and gold metallic suit. The Light Suit DLC resembled high-tech paladin armor with a blue tabard with what looked to be a rotating helicopter blade on the chest. Before his head was covered by the suit, Noble grabbed his bottle of JUSTice water and drank its entire contents. When he finished, his suit reacted by bursting with radiant light energy.

[ JUSTice Noble ]  
"SPONSORMAN!"

He squared up Sponsorman with a voice that had such authority in its tone that it sent a chill up Sponsorman's spine.

[ JUSTice Noble ]  
"You have crossed an unforgivable line that caused despair to many a people here today. You shall surrender and seek forgiveness from those you hindered."

The light from his suit swirled in his hand and then solidified into a broad sword which he gripped firmly.

[ JUSTice Noble ]  
"Or else I shall bring the wrath of Excalibur upon you!"

Sponsorman was left frozen and speechless, but soon he clenched his fist in frustration.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"You think you can still win? No no nononononoooo! I will beat you! Yeah yeah! I WILL STILL BEAT YOU ON THIS DAY!"

Sponsorman tuned the back of both of his hands towards Noble and activated the energy draining crystals on his back hands. A vortex swirled around the crystals in an attempt to sap the energy from the Light Suit DLC, but Noble responded by holding up Excalibur. The sword unleashed a bright aura that overpowered Sponsorman's sapping crystals. Causing them to explode and knock Sponsorman back.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"WHA! Grrr."

Sponsorman then held his palms towards Noble and unleased a volley of energy blasts at Noble. Before they connected, a light aura swirled around Nobles open hand and solidified into a large shield that had the face of Masochist Door on the front. Noble raised the shield up to tank the blasts. When the dust settled, Noble stood without even loosing balance with his shield still up.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"NNNRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!"

Sponsorman activated the rocket pack on the back of his suit and took to the air. Noble responded by activating the thrusters on his shoulders and pursued him into the air. Noble tried to catch Sponsorman with an overhead slash of his sword, but Sponsorman put up a barrier which barely stopped his attack. They were caught in a clash.

[ JUSTice Noble ]  
"You have committed many crimes, Sponsorman! You shall repent on this day!"

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Damn you!"

At this time, I managed to wobble to my feet with the wind knocked out of me from Sponsorman's blast. I looked up at the fight overhead with was like a show of fireworks.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Well, looks like that situation's under control."

I looked over to Blanc who was sitting on the ground watching the fight as well. She took notice of me

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Uh, hi. Names xxBigPhilxx. I'll save the formal introductions until after we rescue your sisters."

[ Blanc ]  
"Huh? Oh, right…"

I helped Blanc to her feet and we made our way to the cage that held Rom and Ram.

Meanwhile, the fight with Noble and Sponsorman began to heat up. Sponsorman unleashed a volley of energy balls which began to track Noble. Noble flew away, but the blasts caught up and appeared to overcome Noble. Noble disappeared in the explosion of energy and dust, but after a second, he flew straight up into the sky without a scratch.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Gah! You can't keep this up forever! Yeah yeah YEAH!"

Sponsorman fired another volley of energy balls at Noble which began tracking him in the air. Noble tried to zig-zag to evade the attack, but they pursued him relentlessly. Noble then did a nose dive and landed on the roof again with the energy balls still chasing him. He gripped his sword which began to give off an aura of radiant light and then unleashed a flurry of slashes at the energy balls. Cutting them into oblivion.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"GAH!"

Sponsorman was enraged at the sight of Noble negating his attack. He held his palms together and his suit reacted by forming a large ball of energy between his palms that sparked intensely. Then he aimed the energy at Noble.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"This one will end you for good! YEEEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

He shot a large focused beam directly at Noble who turned to see the attack coming at the last second. Noble raised his masochist shield in front of him which gave of a light aura and he braced for the impact. It looked as Noble was swallowed completely by the energy wave. There was large cloud of dust left after the attack and no sign of Noble.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"YEAH! Yeahyeah! I told you! I am the one on top here! YEAHYEAHYEAH!"

Sponsorman caught his breath and his DLC suit sparked and creaked after the attack that spent most of his suits power. He then remembered the others on the roof and then turned to our side of the rooftop where Blanc and myself managed to pull down the cage that held Ram and Rom. I then pulled out one of my tonfas and gave the padlock a good whack. As Blanc hurried to open the cage and help her sisters out, my attention was drawn skyward where I saw Noire and Plutia in their HDD form flying towards us.

[ Black Heart ]  
"There they are! Looks like the fighting has already started."

[ Iris Heart ]  
"Oh what a shame. I was hoping to be the first to make that creep suffer for putting those candidates through all that."

Rom and Ram have finally been pulled from the cage thanks to Blanc. After a second of catching their breaths, they both looked over and glared angrily at Sponsorman.

[ Ram ]  
"Tha-… THAT CREEP!"

At the peak of their anger, they activated their HDD forms.

[ Rom ]  
"We… We will make that meanie pay!"

[ Ram ]  
"Yeah! I'll make him black and blue for what he did to us."

I casually waved my hand at them.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"None of that will be necessary really."

[ Sponsorman ]  
"Huh?"

[ JUSTice Noble ]  
"I'm still here!"

A bright light erupted from where Sponsorman fired his attack and out popped Noble still with his Light Suit DLC's JUSTice form active. He charged Sponsorman who barely had time to react and defend himself by shooting energy blasts a Noble. It was a flurry of light and energy, but it all came to a halt as Noble's sword was impaled through Sponsorman's torso.

[ Sponsorman ]  
"GAH?!"

Noble followed up by landing powerful slashes with his Excalibur and a strong upward bash from his shield which sent Sponsorman skyward. Noble gave pursuit into the air and delivered more powerful slashes to Sponsormans DLC suit.

[ JUSTice Noble ]  
"THIS … ENDS … NOW!"

With one strong overhead slash, Noble sent Sponsorman off the rooftop and crashing all the way down to the streets below in a crater. He tried to get to his feet, but the damage to the suit and the injury he suffered proved too much and he dropped to his knee. Noble, who was still in the air, thrust his sword skyward and a huge beam of energy shot out from it and even parted some of the clouds overhead. He then began to rapidly descend to the ground before Sponsorman.

[ JUSTice Noble ]  
"EXCALIBUR'S WRATH!"

He brought the sword and the beam of light down onto Sponsorman and he was blasted with the wave of light energy. Sponsorman writhed in the turret of light and energy. Soon, his suit began to disintegrate and eventually his body was melted away by the energy. The attack ended, smoke and dust rose from the crater, and there was no sign of Sponsorman or what remained of him. The Light Suit's had its energy spent and soon deactivated and retracted into its pack form on Noble's back, thus exposing him. Noble took a moment to catch his breath and I eventually was able to come down the ladder leading from the roof top. I looked over Noble's shoulder at the huge crater left from his last attack and not a spec of Sponsorman was left.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"…"

"Dude"

"…"

"Did you just FUCKIN' KILL SPONSORMAN?!"

[ Noble ]  
"Nah! He's fine. He is the personification of marketing after all. The moment someone sends a sponsorship my way, he'll get another physical body to torment me with and we start all over again. But until then, he'll stay out of our hair. Probably will heckle me during live streams a couple of times until then, but he'll be harmless for now."

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Ah, so that's how it works."

We both took a second to look at the crater, then Noble took a breath.

[ Noble ]  
"So, … what now?"

I didn't say anything. I just pointed my thumb towards the direction of Lowee's Basilicom.

[ Noble ]  
"Oh, that…"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Mhm…"

[ Noble ]  
"I… guess it has to be done, huh?"

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Yup."

Noble covered his face with his palm. At the same time, I noticed that Lily and the other makers were making their way up the street towards us.

[ Noble ]  
"Alright. Let's get moving before I change my mind and/or piss myself on the way there."

Noble waved to the approaching Lily, and we began to make our way to the Lowee Basilicom. As I turned though, I saw something out of the corner of my eye. It was a shadowy silhouette that seemed all too familiar to me. When I looked directly at it, it already vanished. I couldn't help but pause while feeling déjà vu.

[ Noble ]  
"Yo, don't tell me you are chickening out."

Noble's voice brought me back to my senses.

[ xxBigPhilxx ]  
"Of course not. Let's go fill Blanc in on what's really going on."

With that, Noble, Lily, the Makers and myself all headed back to the Lowee Basillicom with hopes of getting Blanc on our side.

-Chapter End-

-Authors Notes-

 _It may be a while before the next chapter. I hate to say it, but I'm losing my muse for this fanfic. I had high hopes that this would me my big contribution to the Lost Pause community, but it seems it's just falling flat and isn't getting notice. I hope this rut will pass and I work out all my personal stuff and get my schedule straightened out and I can continue this fanfic._


End file.
